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A  HISTORY  OF 
BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

BY 
ROBERT  WILLIAM  ROGERS 

PH.D.  (LEIPZIG),  D.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.G.S.,  PROFESSOR  IN  DREW 
THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  MADISON,  NEW  JERSEY 

THIRD  EDITION 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
VOLUME  I 


NEW  YORK :  EATON  &  MAINS 
CINCINNATI:  JENNINGS  &  PYE 


Copyright,  looo,  by 

EATON   &   MAINS 

New  York 

A-H   Rights   Reserved 


First  EditioD  printed  NoTember,  1900. 
Second  Edition  printed  March,  1901. 
Second  Edition  reprinted  June,  1901. 
Tliird  Edition  printed  March,  1902. 


no  a 


•'t  give  tbis  fault?  bool?  to  vjou, 

^or  tbo'  tbc  faults  be  tbicft  as  Just 
■fln  vacant  cbambcis,  U  can  trust 
gour  woman's  nature  ^!in^  an^  true." 


PREFACE. 


During  the  past  ten  years,  when  not  absorbed  in 
the  duties  of  a  busy  professorship,  I  have  given  my 
time  to  the  preparation  of  this  work.  In  its  inter- 
est I  have  made  repeated  journeys  to  Europe,  and 
also  to  the  East,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  text  has 
been  written  in  the  University  Library  at  Leipzig, 
the  British  Museum  in  London,  and  the  Bodleian 
Library  in  Oxford.  In  the  last  named  I  have  had 
especial  opportunity  to  investigate  the  early  his- 
tory of  cuneiform  research  in  the  almost  unrivaled 
collections  of  early  travelers  and  decipherers. 
Large  parts  of  the  book  have  been  rewritten  twice 
or  thrice  as  changes  in  opinion  and  the  discovery 
of  fresh  monumental  material  have  modified  the 
views  previously  entertained.  Whatever  may  be 
the  judgment  of  my  fellow-investigators  in  this 
difficult  field,  it  will  not  truthfully  be  said  that  I 
have  not  taken  pains. 

Every  part  of  the  two  volumes  rests  upon  origi- 
nal sources,  yet  I  have  tried  to  consider  all  that 
modern  Assyriologists  have  brought  forward  in 
elucidation  of  them,  and  have  sought  to  give  due 
credit  for  every  explanation  which  I  have  ac- 
cepted, and  to  treat  with  courtesy  and  respect  any 
that  I  have  ventured  to  reject.     The  progress  of 


vi  PREFACE. 

Assyriology  in  the  past  twenty  years  has  been  so 
rapid  that  every  book  on  the  history  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria  published  prior  to  1880  is  hopelessly 
antiquated,  and  many  issued  much  later  would 
need  extensive  revision.  The  work  of  investiga- 
tion has  fallen  necessarily  into  the  hands  of  spe- 
cialists, and  so  vast  has  the  field  grown  that  there 
are  now  specialists  in  even  small  parts  of  the  sub- 
ject. The  results  of  all  this  detailed  research  are 
scattered  in  scientific  journals  and  monographs  in 
almost  all  the  languages  of  Europe.  To  sift, 
weigh,  and  decide  upon  their  merits  is  no  easy 
task,  and  I  am  sadly  conscious  that  it  might  have 
been  better  done ;  yet  am  I  persuaded  that  schol- 
ars who  know  the  field  intimately  will  recognize 
the  difficulties  and  be  most  ready  to  pardon  the 
shortcomings  which  each  may  discover  in  his  own 
province. 

I  have  sou2:ht  to  tell  the  whole  storv  as  scholars 
now  generally  understand  it,  rather  being  disposed 
to  yield  to  the  consensus  of  opinion,  when  any 
exists,  than  eager  to  set  forth  novel  personal 
opinions.  Yet  in  parts  of  the  field  at  least  I  may 
claim  to  be  an  independent  investigator,  and  to 
have  made  contributions  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
subject. 

In  travel  and  in  research  in  the  libraries  and 
museums  of  Paris,  Berlin,  Cairo,  Constantinople, 
and  elsewhere  I  have  received  many  courtesies 
which  I  should  gladly  acknowledge  here  did  it 
not  seem  disproportionate  to  carve  great  names  on 


PREFACE.  vii 

SO  small  a  structure.  The  obligations  to  my  frieud 
Professor  Sayce  are,  lio^vever,  so  unusual  that  they 
must  be  expressed.  He  has  read  the  entire  book 
in  manuscript,  and  made  many  suggestions,  some 
of  which  led  me  to  change  my  view,  while  others 
showed  me  wherein  I  had  written  obscurely  or 
had  failed  to  defend  my  position  adequately.  I 
am  grateful  to  him  for  this  new  illustration  of  his 
unfailing  kindness  and  generosity  to  younger  men. 
I  take  leave  of  the  book  with  mingled  pleasure 
and  regret,  hoping  only  that  it  may  prove  suffi- 
ciently useful  to  demand  and  deserve  a  revision  at 
no  distant  day. 

ROBERT  W.  ROGERS. 

Madison,  New  Jersey, 
September  18,  1900. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I :    PROLEGOMENA. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Early  Travelers  and  Early  Decipherers. 

PAGE 

Ignorance  concerning  Babylonia  before  1820         .       .  1 

Two  lines  of  research 2 

The  ruins  of  Persepolis,  Mount  Rachmet     ...  3 

Odoric's  account  of  Comum  (Comerum)           .         .  4 

Importance  of  Odoric's  account    .....  5 

Josophat  Barbaro  at  Camara     .....  G 

Barbaro  and  Antonio  de  Gouvea Y 

Gouvea's  account  of  Chelminira         .         .       .         .  "  8 

The  great  stones,  staircases,  and  columns      ...  9 

The  inscriptions  as  Gouvea  saw  them      .         .         .  10 

The  embassy  of  Don  Garcia  de  Sylva  y  Figueroa         .  1 1 

His  description  of  the  ruins  of  Persepolis     .       .       .  12 

Sculpture  at  Persepolis     .       .         .         .         .         .      .  13 

Inscriptions         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .14 

End  of  Figueroa's  account     .         .         .         .         .       .  15 

Letters  of  Pietro  della  Valle.     Copy  of  inscription  .  16 
His  speculations  concerning  the  characters         .         .17 

Thomas  Herbert,  1634 18 

His  account  of  the  inscriptions      .         .         .         .       .  19 

Mandelslo's  account.     Herbert,  1677         ...  20 
Further  descriptions  by  Herbert           .         .         .         .21 

Herbert's  later  account  of  the  inscriptions        .         .  22 

His  copy  of  the  characters   .         .         .         c         .         .  23 

Sir  John  Chardiu  born  1643      .         .         .         .         .  24 


CONTENTS. 


Chardin's  account;  Jean  Baptiste  Taveruier 

Carreri  on  the  inscriptions 

Continuation  of  his  account 

Carreri's  copy  of  the  characters 

Estimate  of  Carreri's  work     . 

Kaempfer's  narrative 

Cornelis  de  Bruin,  1704 

Small  influence  of  the  travelers 

Publication  of  vase,  1762 

Carsten  Niebuhr,  1765 

Niebuhr's  work  at  Persepolis 

Niebuhr's  publications,  1774-1837 

His  copies  and  analyses 

Tychsen  and  Miinter 

Tychsen's    erroneous   translation 

Miinter's  better  success 

Anquetil-Duperron,  1731 

His  publication  of  Zend-Avesta 

De  Sacy  and  Sassanian 

Summaiy  of  materials  for  decipherment 

The  problem  of  decipherment 

CHAPTER  II. 
Gkotefend  and  Rawlistson 
Grotef end  born  1775     . 
Begins  decipherment 
Inscriptions  "  b  "  and  "  g  "  of  Niebuhr 
Persian  equivalents  for  king 
Equivalents  for  "  king  of  kings  "    . 
The  names  Hyst.asj^es,  Darius,  and  Xerxes 
Darheush  and  Ciishharsha    . 
Goshtasp     ....... 

Grotef  end's  partial  t  riinslations     . 

Heeren  assists  Grotefend 

Abbe  Saint-Martin      .         .  .         . 

(rrotefend's  later  work     .... 

Rask  and  Eugene  Burnouf 


CONTENTS.  xi 

PAGE 

The  lists  of  names  at  Naksh-i-Rustam      .         .         .         59 
Lassen's  work        ........     60 

Rich  copies  Persepolis  texts      .         .         .         .         .         61 

Westergaard's  copies      .      .         ,         .         .         .         .62 

Sir  Henry  Rawlinson,  1810,  birth  and  education       .         63 
Rawlinson's  attempts  to  decipher         .         .         .         .64 

His  own  account       .......         65 

He  copies  inscriptions  at  Behistun         .         .  .66 

Rawlinson  sent  to  Afghanistan  ....         67 

Rawlinson's  memoir  on  Persian  inscriptions         .         .     68 
His  obligations  to  others  .....         69 

The  Rev.  Edward  Hincks 70 

His  education  and  early  labors         .         .         .         .         71 

The  close  of  the  Persian  decipherment         .         .         .72 
Other  problems  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         73 

Flower's  lettei's     ........     74 

His  copies  of  cuneiform  characters   ....  75 

Aston's  publication  of  them  .         .         .         .         .76 

A  retrograde  movement  begins         .         .         .         .         77 

Thomas  Hyde  quotes  Flower        .         .         .         .         .78 

Witsen  reproduces  Flower's  signs     ....         79 

Cantemir  visits  Tarku  ......     80 

Guldenstadt  and  Schulz 81 

St.  Martin  and  Burnouf 82 

Holtzmann's  translation  of  Flower's  cop}'         .         .         83 

CHAPTER  III. 

Early  Explorers  in  Babylonia. 
The  Middle  Age  ignorant  of  Babylon 
Rabbi  Benjamin  of  Tudela 
His  accounts  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon 
His  account  of  Babylon  continued    . 
The  influence  of  his  narrative 
John  Eldred,  1583      . 
His  account  of  Babylon 
He  confuses  Baghdad  and  Babylon 
Anthony  Shirley,  1599 


.                     .                      .            UT 

85 

.      86 

87 

.      88 

89 

.      90 

91 

.      92 

xii  CONTENTS. 

His  influence  on  later  explorers 

John  Cartwright  visits  Nineveh  .... 

His  account  of  the  city      ..... 

And  of  Babylon    ...... 

Gasparo  Balbi  visits  Babylon    .... 

Athanasius  Kircher  receives  a  brick  from  Babylon 
End  of  the  age  of  travelers        .... 


PAGK 

93 
94 
95 
96 
97 
98 
99 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Explorations  in  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  1734-1820. 

Jean  Otter  begins  the  new  age  of  exploration     .  .100 

Saint  Albert  visits  the  East 101 

His  description  of  Hillah      .         .         .         .         .  .102 

D'Anville  on  Babylon 103 

Niebuhr  visits  Babylon  1765         .....  104 

And  also  Nineveh      .         .         .         .         .         .         .  1 05 

Beauchamj)  describes  Babel          .         .         .         .  .106 

And  Makloube 107 

He  recognizes  relationship  of  Babylonian  script  .  108 
Olivier  succeeds  him          .         .         .         .         .         .109 

Joseph  Hager  publishes  a  remarkable  book         .  .110 

He  shows  that  Babylon  was  earlier  than  Persepolis  .  Ill 

Great  influence  of  his  book           .         .         .         .  .112 

Claudius  James  Rich  born  1787         .         .         .         .  113 

His  first  impressions  of  Babylon            .         .         .  .114 

Further  description,  and  first  excavations,  1811        .  115 

Rennell's  criticism  of  Rich            ,         .         .         ,  .116 

Rich  visits  Neby  Yunus  and  Kuyunjik    .         .         .  117 

Suspicions  of  the  natives      .         .         .         .         .  .118 

Rich  visits  Persepolis        .         .         .         .         .         .119 

His  influence  upon  cuneiform  research          .         .  .120 

Sir  Robert  Ker  Porter  visits  Rich  at  Baghdad         .  121 

His  unique  equipment  for  exploration          .         .  .122 
Porter's  book  on  Babylon         .         .         .         .         .123 

Close  of  another  period  of  exploration         .         .  .124 

Rich  and  Porter  as  leaders  in  it       .         .         .         .  125 


CONTENTS. 


ziu 


CHAPTER  V. 


Julius  Mohl  begins  residence  in  Paris  1823 
Botta  sent  to  Mosul  as  vice  consul  1842  . 
The  town  of  Mosul  at  that  time 

city 


844 


1  40. 


Excavations  in  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  1843-1854. 

PAoa 
.   126 
127 

.  128 
General  view  of  mounds  opposite  the  city  .  .129 
Botta  searches  Mosul  for  antiquities 
Kuyunjik  selected  for  first  excavations 
Small  success  of  his  efforts  . 
Begins  excavations  at  Khorsabad 
Encouraged  by  Mohl  . 
Difficulties  with  Turkish  officials 
Work  resumed  May  4,  1844 
End  of  Botta's  excavations,  October, 
Austen  Henry  Layard  born  1817 
His  extensive  journey  with  Mitford 
First  description  of  Nimroud 
Layard  visits  Botta  at  Mosul  . 
Layard  begins  collecting  funds  to  excavate  in 
First  night  at  Nimroud  .... 
Discovers  winged  bull  in  the  mound  . 
Description  of  the  scene  .... 
Excitement  caused  by  discovery  . 
Second  pair  of  human-headed  lions  found 
Layard's  musings  over  the  discoveries 
And  reflections  upon  their  interest  . 
Layard's  gifts  in  description 
Permission  from  Constantinople  to  continue  the  work  153 
Hormuzd  Rassam  acts  as  assistant  .  .  .  .154 
Obelisk  of  Shalmaneser  II  found  ....  155 
Excavations  at  Kalah  Shergat  .  .  .  .  .  156 
Layard's  expedition  of  1849      .         .         ...         .157 

Returns  to  England  1852 158 

Fruitfulness  of  his  work    .         .         .         .         .         .159 

William  Kennett  Loftus  in  the  Orient         .         .         .160 


130 
131 
132 
133 
134 
135 
136 
137 
138 
139 
141 
142 

Assyria  143 
144 

.  145 
146,  147 

.  148 
149 

.  150 
151 

.  152 


PAGE 

. 

161 

. 

162 

163, 

164 

. 

165 

167, 

168 

169, 

170 

171 

172, 

173 

174 

xiv  CONTENTS. 

Excavates  at  Warka         .         .         . 

Assyrian  Excavation  Fund  organized 

Taylor  excavates  at  Mugheir      ,         ... 

The  French  expedition  to  Babylonia   . 

Kassam  begins  work  at  Kuyunjik        .         .   166, 

Discoveries  made  by  him  there 

Jones  surveys  Nineveh  .... 

Rawlinson  makes  discovery  at  Ur  . 

Close  of  excavations     ...... 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Thb   Decipherment  of   Assyrian. 

The  problem  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .175 

Westergaard  begins  the  work  .         .         .         .       176 

De  Saulcy  uses  the  name  Assyriaa      .         .         .         .177 

Xorris  publishes  second  column  of  Behistun  texts     .     178 
The  second  form  of  writing  deciphered  .         .        .  17& 

Loewenstein  begins  Assyrian  decipherment      .       180,  181 
Hincks  continues  his  work  .         .         .         .         .         .182 

Longperier  translates  one  of  Botta's  inscriptions   183,  184 
Botta  makes  some  contributions  toward  the  solution  185 
De  Saulcy  makes  futile  attempts  .         .         .         .186 

Hincks  is  much  more  successful         .         .         .       187,  188 
Rawlinson  does  not  equal  him      .         .         .         .         .189 

Publication  of  Rawlinson's  Memoir  .         .        190,   191 

Hincks  makes  still  further  contributions  .       192,  193 

Workers  increase  in  number         .         .         .         .         .194 

Fox  Talbot  proposes  a  test  of  the  decipherment  195,  196 
Effect  of  the  demonstration  .         .         .         .         .197 

Organization  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology 

198,  199 
CHAPTER  Vn. 

The  Decipherment  op  Sumerian  and  of  Vannic. 

Disputes   concerning  the  origin  of   cuneiform    signs   200 
Rawlinson    announces    discovery    of    non-Semitic  in- 
scriptions   .         .         .  .         .         .         .201 


CONTENTS. 

His  studies  of  "  Scythian  "  inscriptions     . 

Ilincks  names  the  language  Old  Chaldean  . 

Sayee  publishes  important  paper  on  Accadian 

LejQormant  writes  grammar  of  Sumerian 

Solution  of  the  problem  in  1873 

Halevy  denies  the  existence  of  Sumerian 

But  does  not  convince  Assyriologists 

Halevy's  theory  gains  recruits 

Defends  his  thesis  at  Leiden,  1883  . 

Delitzsch  joins  Halevy  and  later  deserts  him 

The  end  of  Sumerian  decipherment 

Schulz  finds  inscriptions  at  Van   . 

Edward  Hincks  begins  their  decipherment     . 

Which  is  continued    by  Lenormant  and  Mordtmann 

Guyard  finds  a  valuable  clue  to  the  language 

Sayce  independently  finds  the  same  clue 

And  deciphers  the  Vannic  inscriptions    . 

Belck  and  Lehmann  on  Chaldian  language 

CHAPTER  Vin. 

ExPLORATioxs  IX  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  1872-1900. 
Julius  Mohl,  Secretary  of  the  Societe  Asiatique  .  .  225 
George  Smith  begins  his  work  .  .  .  226,  227 
He  attempts  Cypriote  decipherment  ....  228 
Finds  fragments  of  deluge  tablet  ....  229 
Important  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archae-    , 

ology 230 

Daily  Telegraph  expedition  to  Assyria  .  .  231 
Smith's  second  and  third  expeditions  ....  232 
Smith's  death  at  Aleppo,  1876  .  .  .  .  233 
Rassam  undertakes  a  new  expedition  ,         .     234,  235 

De  Sarzec's  excavations  at  Tello  .  .  236,  237,  238 
The  Wolfe  expedition  to  Babylonia  ,  .  .  239,  240 
The  Philadelphia  expedition  begins  work  .  .  241 
The  second  and  third  campaigns         .  .  .     242,   243 

The  remarkable  work  of  Haynes  at  Nip})ur  .  244,  245 
Hilprecht  in  charge  of  excavations     ....     246 


XV 

PAGE 

. 

202 

203 

204 

205 

. 

206 

207, 

208 

209, 

210 

. 

211 

212 

213, 

214 

215 

216, 

217 

218, 

219 

lann 

220 

221 

. 

222 

. 

223 

224 

xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAOa 
The  German  expedition  at  Babylon  .  .  .  247 
Discoveries  at  Tell-el-Amarna  .  .  .  .248,  249 
Turkish  expedition  at  Sippar  .         .         .  250,  251 

Conclusion  of  period  of  excavation    .         .         .      252,  253 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Soukces. 

The  monuments  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria      .         .         254 

Their  character 255,  256 

Egyptian  texts  and  the  Old  Testament  as  sources      .    257 
Greek  and  Latin  writers  .....         258 

Berossos 259,  260 

Ktesias 261,  262 

Herodotus 263,  264 

Lesser  authorities 265 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Lands  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 

The  boundaries  of  the  two  countries       .         .         266,  267 
Chaldea  and  Assyria  .......     268 

Mesopotamia 269 

Sources  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  .         .     270,  271 

Their  tributaries 272,  273 

Flood  periods  in  the  rivers  .         .         .         .         .274 

Canal  system 275 

Other  water  supplies  .         .         .         .         .         ,         .276 

Climate  of  the  great  valley     .         .         .         .         .         277 

Incursions  of  sand       .         .         .         .         .         .         .278 

Temperate  winters  .         .         .         .         .         .         279 

Fertility  of  the  soil 280,  281 

Its  cereals,  vegetables,  and  trees     .         .         .         .         282 

The  fauna  of  the  country 283,  284 

The  elephant  and  the  wild  ass         ....         285 
No  mineral  wealth  in  Babylonia  .         .         .         .286 

Clay  as  a  building  material     .....         287 
Stone  found  plentifully  in  Assyria      ....     288 


CONTENTS. 

Cities  of  Babylonia  :  Eridii     . 

Ur  and  Larsa       .... 

Girsu,  Uruk      .... 

Isin  and  Nippm-  .... 

Babylon  ..... 

Kutha,  Dur-Kurigalzu,  and  Opis 
Cities  of  Assyria:   Asshur 

Calah  and  Nineveh  . 

Dur-Sharrukin  and  Arbailu 

Na9ibina  and  Harran 

CHAPTER  XI. 


xvu 

FAGB 

289 
.     290 

291,  292 

.     293 

294,   295 

296 

.     297 

298 

.     299 

300,  301 


The  Peoples  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 

The  early  Babylonians    ......         302 

The  Sumerian  language 303 

The  Sumerian  people       ......         304 

Invasion  of  Semites    .......     305 

Original  home  of  Semites        ....         306,  307 

Origin  and  character  of  Assyrians      .         .         .     308,  309 
The  Chaldeans 310,  311 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Chronology. 

Babylonian  chronological  materials 

The  King  Lists    ...... 

Babylonian  Chronicles    .... 

Boundary  stone  of  Bel-nadin-apli 

The  Nabonidus  Chronological  materials 

Date  of  Sargon  I  and  Naram-Sin 

Date  of  Marduk-nadin-akhe    . 

External  indications  of  age 

Assyrian  chronological  material 

Expedition  Lists  and  Synchronistic  Histoiy 

Statements  of  Sennacherib  inscriptions 

Chronology  in  Tiglathpileser's  texts 

Greek  writers  :  Berossos 


. 

312 

313 

314, 

315 

. 

316 

317, 

318 

319 

320, 

321 

322 

323 

. 

324 

325 

. 

326 

327, 

328 

xviii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The  beginning  of  Babylonian  history        • .         .  .329 

Statements  of  Simplicius         ....  330,  331 

Schwartz  on  chronology  of  Berossos         .         .:  .     332 

The  Canon  of  Ptolemy 333,  334 

Egyptian  inscriptions  and  Old  Testament           .  .     335 

Tables  of  chronology  :  Early  Babylonia         .  336,  337 

First  dynasty        .         .         .         .         .         .  .     338 

Second  dynasty         .         .         .         .         .  .         339 

Third  dynasty 340,  341 

Fourth  dynasty •  342,  343 

Fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  dynasties       .         .  .     344 
Eighth  and  ninth  dynasties      ....         345 

Chronology  of  Assyria,  Ishakkus  of  Asshur  .     346 

Kings  of  Assyria      .         .         .         .         .  347,  348 


BOOK  II:     THE  HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  History  of  Babylonia  to  thk 

Fall  of 

Laksa. 

The  difficult  study  of  origins 

,         . 

. 

349 

Earliest  cities  of  Babylonia 

. 

350 

The  land  of  Kengi 

. 

. 

351 

En-shag-kush-ana,  patesi     . 

. 

352, 

353 

Lugalzaggisi    ..... 

. 

354, 

355 

Urukagina           .         . 

. 

. 

356 

Eannatum         ..... 

. 

. 

357 

His  successors 

. 

358, 

359 

Lasirab  and  Manishtusu  . 

, 

360 

Sargon  I  and  his  origin 

361, 

362 

His  great  career      .... 

363, 

364, 

365 

Naram-Sin 

, 

366, 

367 

Ur  Bau-and  Gudea 

368, 

369, 

370 

The  civilization  of  Shirpurla 

. 

371 

The  favorable  location  of  Ur 

. 

, 

372 

Ur-Gur  and  Dungi      .... 

.       373, 

374, 

375 

CONTENTS. 

The  kings  of  Isin     .         .         .         .         . 
The  third  dynasty  of  Ur     . 
Kingdom  of  Amnanu      .         .         .         . 
Nur-Adad  and  Sin-iddin 
Kudur-Nankhundi  .         .         .         .         . 
Chedorlaonier  and  Eri-Aku 
End  of  the  kingdom  of  Larsa 
Sumerian  civilization  in  early  Babylonia 
The  political  development 

CHAPTER  II. 


XIX 

PAGE 

376 

.  377 
378 

.  379 
380 

.  381 
382 

.  383 
384,   385 


The  First  and  Second  Dynasties  of  Babylon. 


The  origin  of  the  city  of  Babylon 
Sumu-abi  to  Apil-Sin       .         .         .         , 
Sin-muballit  and  Hammurabi 
Hammurabi  rules  all  Babylonia 
Chedorlaomer      ..... 

Arioch  ;  Hammurabi,  the  statesman 

The  glory  of  his  reign 

Samsu-iluna     ...... 

End  of  the  first  dynasty 

The  second  dynasty         .... 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Kassite  Dynasty, 

Conquest  of  Babylonia  by  the  Kassites 
Their  racial  affiliations     .... 

Unsatisfactory  knowledge  concerning  them 
The  first  kings  of  the  dynasty 
Agum-kakrime    ...... 

The  titles  of  Kassite  kings 

Extent  of  Ascum-kakrime's  kins^dom 

He  restores  Babylonian  gods 

Lacuna?  in  King  Lists  .         .         •         . 

Beginnings  of  Assj^ria     .... 

INIitanni        ....... 


.      38  G 

387 
.      388 

389 
•     390 

391 
392,   393 

394 

.      395 

396,  397 


.  '  .  * 

399 

, 

400 

401 

.   402, 

403 

. 

404 

. 

405 

. 

406 

.   407, 

408 

. 

409 

.   410, 

411 

XX 


CONTENTS. 


Karaindash 

Kadashman-Bel  .         .         .         .         . 

Bumaburiash  I 

Kurigalzu  I 

Bumaburiash  II 

Karakhardash,  Kadashman-Khaibe  I 

Kurigalzu  II 

Kadashman-Turgu  to  Shagarakti-Shuriash 

Invasion  by  Tukulti-Ninib 

Meli-Shipak         ...... 

Marduk-apal-iddin  .... 

CHAPTER  IV 
The  Dyxasty  of  Isin. 


41 


PAGE 

2,  413,  314 
.     415 

416 
.     417 

418 
.     419 

420 
.      421 

422 
.     423 

424 


Origin  of  the  dynasty         ..... 

Its  first  kings  ....... 

Nebuchadrezzar  I        .....         . 

Marduk-nadin-akhe  ...... 

End  of  the  dynasty 429 


425 
426 
427 

428 


LIST  OF  PLATES  AND  DIAGRAMS. 

Pietro  della  Valle's  Copy  of  Cuneiform  Signs     .     page  16 
The   First   Persepolis   Inscriptions,    copied   entire 

(Sir  J.  Chardin)     .         .         .         .to  face  page  24 
Carreri's  Copy  of  Inscription  at  Persepolis  .     page  28 

Inscriptions  Deciphered  by  Grotefend  to  face  page  48 

Inscription  Copied  by  Flower      ....     j^age  75 


A  HISTORY 

OF 

BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


BOOK  i: 

PROLEGOMENA 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY   TRAVELERS    AND    EARLY   DECIPHERERS. 

Prior  to  1820  the  only  knowledge  possessed  by 
the  world  of  the  two  cities  Babylon  and  Nineveh, 
and  of  the  empires  which  they  founded  and  led, 
was  derived  from  peoples  other  than  their  inhab- 
itants. No  single  word  had  come  from  the  deep 
stillness  of  the  ruins  of  Babylon,  no  voice  was 
heard  beneath  the  mounds  of  Nineveh.  It  would 
then  have  seemed  a  dream  of  impossible  things 
to  hope  that  some  future  day  would  discover 
buried  libraries  in  these  mounds,  filled  with 
books  in  which  these  peoples  had  written  not 
only  their  history  and  chronology,  but  their  sci- 
ence, their  operations  of  building,  their  manners 
and  customs,  their  very  thoughts  and  emotions. 
That  the  long-lost  languages  in  which  these  books 


2         HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

were  written  should  be  recovered,  that  men  should 
I'ead  them  as  readily  and  as  surely  as  the  tongues 
of  which  traditional  use  had  never  ceased  among 
men — all  this  would  then  have  seemed  impossible 
indeed.  But  this  and  much  more  has  happened. 
From  these  long-lost,  even  forgotten  materials  the 
history  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  has  become 
known.  These  are  now  the  chief  sources  of  our 
knowledge,  and  before  we  begin  our  survey  of  the 
long  line  of  the  centuries  it  is  well  that  we  should 
look  at  the  steps  by  which  our  sources  were 
secured. 

The  story  of  the  rediscovery  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  is  really  twofold.  Two  lines  of  research, 
pursued  separately  for  a  long  time,  at  last  formed 
a  union,  and  from  that  union  has  resulted  present 
knowledge.  By  the  one  line  the  ancient  sources 
were  rediscovered,  by  the  other  men  learned  how 
to  read  them. 

The  first  clue  which  led  to  the  rediscovery  of  the 
ancient  language  of  Babylonia  and  of  Assyria  was 
not  found  in  either  of  these  two  lands.  It  was 
not  found  by  a  scholar  who  set  out  to  search  for 
it.  It  was  not  a  brilliant  discovery  made  in  a  day, 
to  become  the  wonder  of  ages.  It  was  rather 
the  natural  result  of  a  long,  tedious,  and  some- 
what involved  process.  It  began  and  long  con- 
tinued to  be  in  the  hands  of  travelers,  each  learn- 
ing a  little  from  his  predecessors,  and  then  adding 
a  mite  as  the  result  of  his  own  observation.  It 
was  found  in  the  most  unlikely  place  in  Persia, 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.  3 

far  from  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  The  story  of  its 
finding  is  worth  the  telling,  not  only  because  it  is 
necessary  to  any  just  appreciation  of  our  present 
knowledge  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  but  because 
it  has  its  own  interest,  and  is  instructive  as  a  his- 
tory of  the  progress  of  knowledge. 

In  Persia,  forty  miles  northeast  of  Shiraz,  once 
the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  there  is  a  range  of 
everlasting  hills,  composed  of  a  marble  of  dark 
grey  limestone,  which  bears  the  name  of  Mount 
Rachmet.  In  front  of  this  ridge,  and  in  a  semi- 
circular hollow,  there  rises  above  the  plain  a  vast 
terracelike  platform.  Nature  built  this  terrace  in 
part,  but  man  at  some  time  erected  a  wall  in  front 
of  it,  leveled  off  the  top,  and  there  built  great  pal- 
aces and  temples.  In  the  Middle  Ages  this  land 
of  Persia  became  full  of  intei'est  for  various  rea- 
sons. It  had  an  important  commerce  with  Europe, 
and  that  naturally  drew  men  of  trade  fi-om  Europe 
into  its  extensive  plateaus,  that  were  reeking  with 
heat  in  summer,  and  equally  uncomfortable  in  the 
bleak  cold  of  winter.  The  commercial  contact  of 
Persia  led,  also,  most  naturally  to  diplomatic  inter- 
course of  various  kinds  with  European  states,  and 
this  intercourse  gradually  made  the  land  known  in 
some  measure  to  the  West. 

The  earliest  European,  at  present  known  to  us, 
who  visited  the  great  terrace  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Rachmet  was  a  wandering  friar,  Odoricus,  or  Odoric, 
by  name.  He  was  going  overland  to  Cathaj^,  and 
on  the  way  passed  between  Yezd  and  Huz,  about 


4         HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

1320  A.  D.  He  had  no  time  to  look  at  ruins, 
and  appears  hardly  to  have  seen  them  at  all. 
Yet  his  record  is  the  first  word  heard  in  Europe 
concerning  the  ruins  at  Persepolis : 

''I  came  unto  a  certaine  citie  called  Comum,  which 
was  an  huge  and  mightie  city  in  olde  time,  con- 
teyning  well  nigh  fiftie  miles  in  circuite,  and  hath 
done  in  times  past  great  damage  unto  the  Romanes. 
In  it  there  are  stately  palaces  altogether  destitute 
of  inhabitants,  notwithstanding  it  aboundeth  with 
great  store  of  victuals." ' 

The  passage  is  disappointing.  Odoric  was  a 
"  man  of  little  refinement "  *  and,  though  possessed 
of  a  desire  to  wander  and  see  strange  sights,  cared 
little  for  the  intellectual  or  spiritual  meaning  of 
great  places.    It  is  an  oft-recurring  statement  with 

'  TJie  Second  Volume  of  the  Principal  Navigations,  Voyages,  Traffiques, 
and  Discoveries  of  the  English  Nation,  etc.  By  Richard  Hakluyt,  Preacher, 
and  sometime  Student  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford.  Imprinted  at  London, 
anno  1599,  p.  54.  [Here  beginneth  the  iournall  of  Frier  Odoricus,  one  of 
the  order  of  the  Minorites,  concerning  strange  things  which  hee  sawe 
among  the  Tartars  of  the  East.]     The  following  is  the  original  Latin  text : 

"  Ab  hac,  transiens  per  civitates  et  terras,  veni  ad  quamdam  civitatem 
nomine  Coprum,  quae  antiquitatus  civitas  magna  fuit :  haec  maximum 
damnum  quondam  intulit  Romae ;  eius  autem  muri  bene  quadraginta  milia- 
rum  sunt  capaces.  Et  in  ea  sunt  palacia  adhuc  integra,  et  multis  victuali- 
bus  haec  abundat."  (See  Sopra  la  Vita  e  i  Viaggi  del  Beato  Odorico  da 
Pordenone,  Stuni  del  Chierico  Francescano  Fr.  Teofilo  Domenichelli.  In 
Prato,  1881,  pp.  156,  157.)  The  name  of  the  place  called  Comum,  above, 
is  variously  written  by  different  authorities:  Comerum,  Yule;  Conium, 
Venni  ;  Comum,  Utin.  ;  Coman,  Mrs. ;  Comerum,  Pars.  The  manuscript 
readings  are  very  diverse,  but  I  believe  with  Yule  {Cathay  and  the  Way 
Tliilher,  by  Col.  Henry  Yule,  C.  B.,  London,  Hakluyt  Society,  1866,  p.  52, 
note)  that  the  reading  to  be  preferred  is  Comerum,  which  is  the  Camara  of 
Barbaro,  the  Kinara  of  Rich,  and  the  Kenare  of  Mme.  Dieulafoy. 

'  This  is  the  judgment  of  Colonel  Yule  \ih.  i,  p.  8],  and  everything  seems 
to  me  to  bear  it  out. 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.         5 

him  that  he  found  good  "  victuals,"  and  with  that 
his  simple  soul  was  content.  He  evidently  did 
not  know  what  place  the  ancient  ruins  marked, 
and  that  he  cared  at  all  does  not  appear.  So 
simple  is  his  word  that  men  have  even  doubted 
whether  he  ever  saw  the  ruins  with  his  own  eyes ; 
but  there  is  no  real  reason  to  doubt  that  he  did. 
But  even  though  he  saw  little  and  said  less,  his 
narrative  was  almost  a  classic  before  the  invention 
of  printing,  and  was  copied  frequently,  as  the  nu- 
merous manuscripts  still  in  existence  show.'  Not 
very  long  after  the  invention  of  printing  his  story 
found  expression  in  type.  Then  it  became  a  call 
to  others  to  go  and  see  also.  It  is  only  a  first 
voice  in  the  dark — this  word  of  Odoric — and  long 
would  it  be  ere  another  wayfarer  should  see  the 
same  I'elics  of  the  past. 

In  the  year  1472  the  glorious  republic  of  Ven- 
ice dispatched  an  envoy  to  the  Court  of  Uzun 

'  Cordier  enumerates  seventy-nine  as  still  existing  in  London,  Oxford, 
Cambridge,  Paris,  etc. 

See  for  biographical  and  critical  material :  Les  Voyages  en  Asie  au  XIV' 
Steele  du  Bienheureuz  Frere  Odoric  de  Pordenone  Religieux  de  Saint-Francis, 
publics  avec  une  introduction  et  des  notes  par  Henri  Cordier.    Paris,  1891. 

The  narrative  of  Odoricus  was  first  published  in  1513  under  the  title, 
^^Odorichus  de  rebus  incognitis,  Pesaro  [per  Girolamo  Soncino],  1513,  in  4." 
Only  one  copy  of  this  extraordinarily  rare  book  is  known  to  exist,  and  that 
is  in  the  Reale  Biblioteca  Palatina  de  Parme,  and  I  have  not  seen  it.  It 
is  described  with  facsimiles  in  Cordier,  pp.  cxvii-cxxiii. 

A  second  edition  appeared  in  1528,  at  Paris,  and  the  third  reprinting  was  in 
Ramusio,  Navigationi  et  Viaggi,  ii,  Venetia,  1583,  pp.  245-253.  This  beau- 
tiful edition  I  have  seen.  The  title  of  the  section  is  *'  Viaggio  del  Beato 
Odorico  da  Vdine,  dell'  ordine  de'  frati  Minori,  Delle  usanze,  costumi,  & 
nature,  di  diverse  nationi  &  genti  del  Mondo,  &  del  maritirio  di  quattro 
frati  dell'ordine  predetto,  qual  patirono  tra  gl'Infedeli." 


e         HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Hassan.  His  name  was  Josophat  Barbaro,  and  he 
passed  the  same  way  as  Odoric,  hut  saw  a  little 
more,  which  he  thus  describes :    , 

"  Near  the  town  of  Camara  is  seen  a  circular 
mountain,  which  on  one  side  appears  to  have  been 
cut  and  made  into  a  terrace  six  paces  high.  On 
the  summit  of  this  terrace  is  a  flat  space,  and 
around  are  forty  columns,  which  are  called  Cil- 
minar,  which  means  in  our  tongue  Forty  Columns, 
each  of  which  is  twenty  cubits  long,  as  thick  as 
the  embrace  of  three  men ;  some  of  them  are  ruined ; 
but,  to  judge  from  that  which  can  still  be  seen, 
this  was  formerly  a  beautiful  building.  The  ter- 
race is  all  of  one  piece  of  rock,  and  upon  it  stand 
sculj^tured  figures  of  animals  as  large  as  giants, 
and  above  them  is  a  figure  like  those  by  which,  in 
our  country,  we  represent  God  the  Father  in- 
closed in  a  circle,  and  holding  a  ring  in  his  hand ; 
underneath  are  other  smaller  figures.  In  front  is 
the  figure  of  a  man  leaning  on  his  bow,  which  is 
said  to  be  a  figure  of  Solomon.  Below  are  many 
others  which  seem  to  support  those  above  them, 
and  among  these  is  one  who  seems  to  wear  on  his 
head  a  papal  miter,  and  holds  up  his  open  hand, 
apparently  with  the  intention  of  giving  his  bene- 
diction to  those  below,  who  look  up  to  him,  and 
seem  to  stand  in  a  certain  expectation  of  the  said 
benediction.  Beyond  this  there  is  a  tall  figure  on 
horseback,  apparently  that  of  a  strong  man ;  this 
they  say  is  Samson,  near  whom  are  many  other 
figures,  dressed  in  the  French  fashion  and  wearing 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.  7 

long  cloaks ;  all  these  figures  are  in  half  relief. 
Two  days'  journey  fi'om  this  place  thei'e  is  a  vil- 
lage called  Thimar,  and  two  days  further  off  an- 
other village,  where  there  is  a  tomb  in  which  they 
say  the  mother  of  Solomon  was  buried.  Over 
this  is  built  an  edifice  in  the  form  of  a  chapel,  and 
there  are  Arabic  letters  upon  it,  which  say,  as  we 
understand  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  place,  Mes- 
ser  Suleimen,  which  means  in  our  tongue  Temple 
of  Solomon,  and  its  gate  looks  toward  the  east." ' 

Barbaro  had  not  made  much  advance  upon 
Odoric,  but  his  account  was  not  altogether  fruit- 
less, though  soon  to  be  superseded. 

When  Shah  Abbas  the  Great,  king  of  Persia, 
began  his  long  and  remarkable  reign  (1586)  Persia 
was  a  dark  land  to  European  eyes.  It  was  he  who 
opened  it  freely  to  ambassadors  from  Europe,  all 
of  whom  he  treated  with  a  magnificent  courtesy. 
The  first  of  these  ambassadors  to  arrive  in  his 
kingdom  came  fi-om  the  kingdom  of  Portugal,  sent 
out  by  Philip  III,  king  of  Spain  and  Portugal. 
This  man  was  an  Augustinian  friar,  Antonio  de 
Gouvea,  who  came  with  messages  both  of  peace 
and  of  war.  It  was  his  aim  to  endeavor  to  carry 
Christianity  among  the  Persians — a  message  of 
peace — but  also  to  induce  Abbas  to  make  war  on 
the  Osmanli  Turks.  He  was  somewhat  more  suc- 
cessful  in    the   second  than    in   the   first   object, 

1  Viaggi  Fatli  da  Vinetia,  alia  Tana,  in  Persia,  in  India  et  in  Constanti- 
7iopli,coii  la  descrittione  particolare  di  Citta,  Luoghi,  Sitti,  Costumi,  et  della 
Porta  del  gran  Turco  &  di  tutte  le  intrate,  spese,  &  modo  di  governo  suo,  & 
della  ultima  Impressa  contra  Portoghesi.     In  Venezia,  M.D.XLIII,  p.  51. 


8         HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

though  he  did  establish  an  Augustinian  society  at 
the  Persian  court.  After  many  and  sore  adven- 
tures at  the  hands  of  sea  pirates  he  again  saw  his 
native  land,  and  published  an  account  of  his  ad- 
ventures. In  this  story  he  tells  of  a  visit  to  Per- 
sepolis,  and  in  these  terms: 

"We  continued  our  journey  as  far  as  a  village 
called  Chelminira,  which  in  their  language  means 
Forty  Minarets,  because  that  was  the  number  in 
the  tomb  of  an  ancient  king  which  stood  there.  .  .  . 
We  went  to  see  the  tomb  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
and  it  is  my  firm  belief  that  the  mausoleum  which 
Artemisia  erected  to  her  husband  was  not  more 
notable,  though  it  is  held  as  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world ;  but  the  mausoleum  has  been  destroyed 
by  time,  which  seems  to  have  no  power  against 
this  monument,  which  has  also  resisted  the  efforts 
of  human  malice.  .  .  .  The  place  is  between  two 
high  ridges,  and  the  tomb  of  which  I  have  made 
mention  is  at  the  foot  of  the  northern  ridge.  Those 
who  say  that  Cyrus  rebuilt  the  city  of  Shiraz, 
affirm  also  that  he  built  for  himself  this  famous 
tomb.  There  are  indications  that  Ahasuerus,  or 
Artaxerxes,  erected  it  for  himself,  besides  another 
near  it  which  he  made  for  Queen  Vashti ;  and  this 
opinion  is  made  more  probable  by  the  considera- 
tion of  the  short  distance  from  this  site  to  the  city 
of  Suzis,  or  Shushan,  in  which  he  generally  re- 
sided. ...  At  the  foot  of  the  ridge  began  two 
staircases  facing  one  another,  with  many  steps 
made  of  stones  of  so  great  a  size  that  it  will  be 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.  9 

beyond  belief  when  I  affirm  that  some  of  them, 
when  they  were  first  hewn,  were  more  than 
twenty-five  palms  in  circumference,  ten  or  twelve 
broad,  and  six  or  eight  high ;  and  of  these,  there 
were  very  many  throughout  the  whole  structure, 
for  the  building  was  chiefly  composed  of  them ; 
and  it  was  no  small  wonder  to  consider  how  they 
could  have  been  placed  one  upon  the  other,  par- 
ticularly in  the  columns,  where  the  stones  were 
larger  than  in  any  other  part.  That  which  aston- 
ished us  most  was  to  see  that  certain  small  chapels 
were  made  of  a  single  stone — doorway,  pavement, 
walls,  and  roof.  .  .  .The  staircases,  of  which  I 
have  spoken,  met  on  a  broad  landing,  from  which 
the  whole  plain  was  visible.  The  walls  of  the 
staircases  were  entirely  covered  with  figures  in  re- 
lief, of  workmanship  so  excellent  that  I  doubt 
whether  it  could  be  surpassed ;  and  by  ascending 
the  staircases  access  was  gained  to  an  extensive 
terrace,  on  which  stood  the  forty  columns  which 
gave  their  name  to  the  place,  each  formed,  in  spite 
of  their  great  size,  of  no  more  than  three  stones.  .  .  . 
The  bases  might  be  thirty  palms  round,  and  on 
the  columns  were  beautifully  carved  figures.  The 
porches  through  which  the  terrace  was  entered 
were  very  high  and  the  walls  very  thick ;  at  each 
end  stood  out  figures  of  lions  and  other  fierce  ani- 
mals, carved  in  relief  in  the  same  stone  ;  so  well  exe- 
cuted that  they  seemed  to  be  endeavoring  to  terrify 
the  spectators.  The  likeness  of  the  king  was  drawn 
life-size  upon  the  porches  and  in  many  other  parts. 


10       HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

"  From  this  place  was  an  ascent  to  another  much 
higher,  where  was  a  chamber  excavated  in  the 
hillside,  which  must  have  been  intended  to  con- 
tain the  king's  body,  although  the  natives,  imagin- 
ing that  it  contained  a  different  treasure,  have 
broken  into  it,  having  little  respect  for  the  ancient 
memory  of  him  who  constructed  it.  .  .  . 

"  The  inscriptions — which  relate  to  the  founda- 
tion of  the  edifice,  and,  no  doubt,  also,  declare  the 
author  of  it — although  they  remain  in  many  parts 
very  distinct,  yet  there  is  none  that  can  read  them, 
for  they  are  not  in  Persian,  nor  Arabic,  nor  Arme- 
nian, nor  Hebrew,  which  are  the  languages  cur- 
rent in  those  parts ;  and  thus  all  helps  to  blot  out 
the  memory  of  that  which  the  ambitious  king 
hoped  to  make  eternal.  And  because  the  hardness 
of  the  material  of  which  it  is  built  still  resists  the 
wear  of  time,  the  inhabitants  of  the  place,  ill 
treated  or  irritated  by  the  numbers  of  visitors 
who  came  to  see  this  wonder,  set  to  work  to  do  it 
as  much  injury  as  they  could,  taking  as  much 
trouble  perhaps  to  deface  it  as  the  builders  had 
done  to  erect  it.  The  hard  stone  has  resisted  the 
effect  of  fire  and  steel,  but  not  without  showing 
signs  of  injury." ' 


'  Relacam,  AM  |  em  que  se  tra-  |  tarn  as  gueras  e  gran  |  des  victorias 
que  alcan-  |  90U0  grade  Rey  da  Persia  Xa  Abbas  do  grao  Tur  |  co  Mahom- 
etto,  &  seu  filho  Amethe :  as  quais  |  resultarao  das  Embaixadas,  q  per  man- 
dado  1  da  Catholica  &  Real  Magesta  de  del  Rey  |  D.  Felippe  segundo  de 
Portugal  fize-  |  rao  algus  Religiosos  da  ordem  dos  Eremitas  de  S.  Augusti-  | 
nho  a  Persia.  | 

Composto  pella  Padre  F.  Antonio  de  Gouvea  |  Religiose  da  mesma  ordem, 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.         11 

From  this  narrative  it  is  plain  that  the  militant 
friar  had  learned  more  of  the  rains  than  had  Odoric 
or  Barbaro.  He  no  longer  believes  that  Solomon 
had  aught  to  do  wdth  them,  but  connects  them 
with  fair  degree  of  exactness  with  the  Persian 
kings.  He  also  is  more  accurate  and  explicit  con- 
cerning the  inscriptions  which  he  saw.  They  had 
already  begun  to  exercise  over  his  mind  some  little 
spell — a  spell  which  was  soon  to  hold  a  large  part 
of  Europe  beneath  its  sway. 

The  next  ambassador  whom  Philip  III  sent  out 
to  Shah  Abbas  was  Don  Garcia  de  Sylva  y  Fig- 
ueroa,  who  likewise  visited  the  great  ruins.  On 
his  return  to  Isfahan  he  wrote  a  letter,  in  1619,  to 
the  Marquess  de  Bedmar.  It  was  written  origi- 
nally in  Spanish,  but  immediately  was  done  into 
Latin  and  published  at  Antwerp  in  1620.  This 
letter  of  a  brilliant  man  completely  superseded 
Gouvea's  account,  and  evidently  made  a  profound 
impression  in  Europe.     Within  five  years  it  was 

Reitor  do  Col  j  legio  de  sancto  Augustinho  de  Goa,  &  |  professor  da  sagrada 
Theologia. 

Impresso  em  Lisboa  per  Pedro  Crasbeeck. — Anno  M.DCXI,  fol.  30,  recto 
et  seq. 

Relation  |  des  Grandes  |  Guerres  et  |  victoires  obtenues  par  |  le  Roy  de 
Perse  |  Cha  Abbas  |  contre  les  Enipereurs  de  Turquie  |  Mahomet  et  Ach- 
met  son  fils.  |  En  suite  du  voyage  de  quelques  |  Religieux  de  I'Ordre  des 
Hermites  de  S.  Augustin  envoyez  [  en  Perse  par  le  Roy  Catholique  Dom 
Philippe  Second  ]  Roy  de  Portugal. 

Par  le  P.  Fr.  Anthoine  de  Gouvea,  Religieux  du  mesme  |  Ordre,  Recteur 
du  College  de  S.  Augustin  de  Goa,  |  Professeur  en  Theologie. 

Traduit  de  I'Original  Portugais,  imprime  a  Lisbonne  avec  Licence  |  de 
rinquisition,  de  I'oridinaire  &  du  Palais. 

A  Rouen,  |  chez  Nicolas  Loyselet,  pres  S,  Lo,  |  derriere  le  Palais,  d 
rOyselet.— 1646,  pp.  18,  ff. 


12      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

translated  into  English,  so  receiving  still  greater 
publicity.  His  description  of  the  ruins  of  Per- 
sepolis  runs  after  this  fashion  : 

"There  are  yet  remayning  most  of  those  huge 
wilde  buildings  of  the  Castle  and  Palace  of  Per- 
sepolis,  so  much  celebrated  in  the  monuments  of 
ancient  writers.  These  frames  do  the  Arabians 
and  Persians  in  their  owne  language  call  Chilmi- 
nara :  which  is  as  much  as  if  you  should  say  in 
Spanish  Quarenta  Coliimnas^  or  Alcoranas :  for  so 
they  call  those  high  naiTow  round  steeples  which 
the  Arabians  have  in  their  Mesquites.  This  rare, 
yea  and  onely  monument  of  the  world  (which  farre 
exceedeth  all  the  rest  of  the  World's  miracles  that 
we  have  seen  or  heard  of),  sheweth  it  selfe  to  them 
that  come  to  this  Citie  from  the  Towne  of  Xiria, 
and  standeth  about  a  league  from  the  River  Ban- 
damir,  in  times  past  called  Araxis  (not  that  which 
parteth  Media  from  the  greater  Armenia),  whereof 
often  mention  is  made  by  Q.  Curtius,  Diodorus, 
and  Plutarch  :  which  Authors  doe  point  us  oute  the 
situation  of  Persepolis,  and  doe  almost  lead  us 
unto  it  by  the  hand.  The  largenesse,  fairnesse,  and 
long-lasting  matter  of  these  Pillars  appeareth  by 
the  twentie  which  are  yet  left  of  alike  fashion ; 
which  with  other  remaynders  of  those  stately  Piles 
do  move  admiration  in  the  minde  of  beholders,  and 
cannot  but  with  much  labour  and  at  leisure  be 
layed  open.  But  since  it  is  your  Lordships  hap 
to  live  now  at  Venice,  where  you  may  see  some 
resemblance  of  the  things  which  I  am  about  to 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        13 

write  of,  I  will  briefly  tell  you  that  most  of  the 
pictures  of  men,  that,  ingraven  in  marble,  doe  seele 
the  front,  the  sides,  and  statelier  parts  of  this  build- 
ing, are  decked  with  a  very  comely  cloathing,  and 
clad  in  the  same  fashion  which  the  Venetian  Mag- 
nificoes  goe  in :  that  is  Gownes  downe  to  the  heeles, 
with  wide  sleeves,  with  round  flat  caps,  their  hair 
spred  to  the  shoulders,  and  notably  long  beards. 
Yee  may  see  in  these  tables  some  men  sitting  with 
great  maiestie  in  certayne  loftier  chayres,  such  as 
use  to  bee  with  us  in  the  Quires  and  Chapter — 
Houses  of  Cathedrall  Churches,  appointed  for  the 
seates  of  the  chiefe  Prelates ;  the  seate  being  sup- 
ported with  a  little  foote-stoole  neatly  made,  about 
a  hand  high.  And,  which  is  very  worthy  of  wonder 
in  so  divers  dresses  of  so  many  men  as  are  ingraven 
in  these  tables,  none  cometh  neere  the  fashion 
which  is  at  this  day,  or  hath  beene  these  many 
Ages  past,  in  use  through  all  Asia.  For  though 
out  of  all  Antiquitie  we  can  gather  no  such  argu- 
ments of  the  cloathing  of  Assyrians,  Medes,  and 
Persians,  as  we  finde  many  of  the  Greekes  and 
Romanes;  yet  it  appeareth  sufficiently  that  they 
used  garments  of  a  middle  size  for  length,  like  the 
Punike  vest  used  by  the  Turks  and  Persians  at 
this  day,  which  they  call  Aljuba,  and  these  Cavaia : 
and  shashes  round  about  their  heads,  distinguished 
yet  both  by  fashion  and  colour  from  the  Cidaris, 
which  is  the  Royall  Diademe.  Yet  verily  in  all 
this  sculpture  (which,  though  it  be  ancient,  yet 
shineth  as  neatly  as  if  it  were  but  new-done)  you 


14       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

can  see  no  picture  that  is  like  or  in  the  workman- 
ship resembleth  any  other,  which  the  memorie  of 
man  could  yet  attaine  to  the  knowledge  of  from 
any  part  of  the  World :  so  that  this  worke  may 
seeme  to  excede  all  Antiquities.  Now  nothing 
more  confirmeth  this  than  one  notable  Inscription 
cut  in  a  Jasper  table,  with  characters  still  so  fresh 
and  faire  that  one  would  wonder  how  it  could 
scape  so  many  Ages  without  touch  of  the  least 
blemish.  The  Letters  themselves  are  neither 
Chaldean,  nor  Hebrew,  nor  Greeke,  nor  Arabike, 
nor  of  any  other  Nation  which  was  ever  found  of 
old,  or  at  this  day  to  be  extant.  They  are  all 
three  cornered,  but  somewhat  long,  of  the  forme 
of  a  Pyramide,  or  such  a  little  Obeliske  as  I  have 
set  in  the  margin  (a)  ;  so  that  in  nothing  do  they 
differ  from  one  another  but  in  their  placing  and 
situation,  yet  so  conformed  that  they  are  wondrous 
plaine,  distinct  and  perspicuous.  What  kind  of 
building  the  whole  was  (whether  Corinthian, 
lonick  or  mixt)  cannot  be  gathered  from  the  re- 
maynder  of  these  mines :  which  is  otherwise  in  the 
old  broken  walls  at  Rome,  by  which  that  may 
easily  be  discerned.  Notwithstanding  the  wondrous 
and  artificiall  exactness  of  the  worke,  the  l^eautie 
and  elegancy  of  it  shining  out  of  the  proportion 
and  symmetric,  doth  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  be- 
holders. But  nothing  amazed  me  more  than  the 
hardnesse  and  durablenesse  of  these  Marbles  and 
Jaspers;  for  in  many  places  there  are  Tables  so 
solide,  and  so  curiously  wrought  and  polished  that 


EARLY  TRAVELERS   AND  DECIPHERERS.        li) 

ye  may  see  your  face  in  them  as  in  a  glasse.  Be- 
sides the  Authors  by  rae  ah'eadie  commended, 
Arrianus  and  Justine  make  special  mention  of  this 
Palace ;  and  they  report  that  Alexander  the  Great 
(at  the  instigation  of  Thais)  did  burne  it  downe. 
But  most  delicately  of  all  doth  Diodorus  deliver 
this  storie. 

"The  whole  Castle  was  encompassed  with  a 
threefold  circle  of  walls,  the  greater  part  whereof 
hath  yielded  to  the  time  and  weather.  There 
stand  also  the  sepulchres  of  their  kings,  placed  on 
the  side  of  that  hill,  at  the  foote  whereof  the 
Castle  itself  is  built;  and  the  monuments  stand 
just  so  farre  from  one  another  as  Diodorus  re- 
porteth.  In  a  worde,  all  doth  so  agree  with  his 
discourse  of  it  that  he  that  hath  scene  this  and 
read  that  cannot  possibly  be  deceived." ' 

Sylva  y  Figueroa  had  evidently  more  interest  in 
the  peoples  of  the  ancient  Orient  than  in  their  lan- 
guages. He  had  not  given  much  attention  to  the 
inscriptions  which  he  saw,  and  the  idea  of  attempt- 
ing to  copy  any  of  these  strange  characters  never 
seems  to  have  entered  his  mind.  It  was  a  pity 
that  this  did  not  occur  to  him,  for  the  wide  dis- 
semination of  his  letter  would  have  earlier  intro- 

'  Garciae  Silva  Figueroa  |  Philippi  III  |  Hispaniarum  Indiarumq.  Regis  | 
Ad  Persiae   Regem  Legati  |  De  |  Rebus   Persarum  ]  Epistola.  |  v  Kal.  an. 
M.DC.XIX. 

Spabani  exarata  |  Ad  Marchioueoi  Bedmari  |  iiuper  ad  Venetos,  nunc 
ad  Sereniss.  |  Austrriae  Archiduees,  Belgarum  Principes  |  Regium  Lega- 
tum  1  Antverpiae  |  ex  officina  Plantiniana. — M.DC.XX,  p.  6,  ff. 

English  translation  in  Purchas  His  PUgrimes.  London,  1625.  Part  ii, 
1533-1634. 


16       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

cluced  Europe  to  the  idea  that  here  was  another 
great  field  for  study.  These  mysterious  signs  would 
even  then  have  attracted  attention.  But  Europe 
was  now  soon  to  learn  something  of  the  appear- 
ance of  these  strange  signs. 

In  the  yeai^  1614-1626  Pietro  della  Valle  trav- 
ersed  a  large  part  of  Turkey,  Persia,  and  India. 
On  this  journey  he  wrote  "  familiar  "  letters,  which 
were  in  reality  almost  treatises  upon  geography, 
history,  and  ethnology,  to  a  friend  and  physician, 
Mario  Schipano,  at  Naples.  In  passing  through 
Persia  he  visited  the  ruins  of  Persepolis,  once  the 
capital  of  ancient  Persia.  Here  he  marked  that  the 
city  was  surrounded  upon  three  sides  by  mountains 
which  broke  oif  abruptly,  leaving  smooth  precipice 
surfaces  around  it.  Upon  this  smooth  rock  in 
a  number  of  places  he  found  strange  marks,  evi- 
dently made  by  the  hand  of  man,  and  intended  to 
mean  something.  What  language  this  might  be  or 
what  letters  he  had  no  idea.  In  a  letter  written 
October  21,  1621,  he  described  the  appearance  of 
these  strange  signs,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  copy 
down  into  his  letter  a  few  of  them : ' 

<T  m  Tf  \  «TT 

and  that  without  very  great  exactness.  Comment- 
ing upon  these  signs,  he  remarks  that  in  the  sec- 

'  Viaggi  di  Pietro  della  Valle,  il  Pellegrino.  .  .  .  Descriiti  da  hd  medeimo 
in  54.  Leltere  familiari  .  .  .  AlV  enidUo,  e  fro'  piii  cari,  di  molii  anni  suo 
Amico  Mario  Schipano.     In  Roma  MDCL.     VoL  Hi,  p.  206.     Printed  1658. 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        17 

ond  one  of  them,  consisting  of  three  strokes  down- 
ward and  one  pointing  toward  the  right,  there 
seemed  to  be  indications  that  it  was  made  from 
left  to  right,  and  not  from  right  to  left.  He  had 
thus  already  begun  to  speculate  upon  the  question 
as  to  whether  this  unknown  language  was  read 
from  right  to  left,  as  were  most  of  the  oriental 
tongues  of  which  he  had  knowledge,  or  whether  it 
was  to  be  read,  like  the  European  languages,  from 
left  to  right.  On  the  ground  already  alleged,  and 
upon  other  grounds  which  he  then  proceeds  to 
state,  he  decided  that  this  tongue  was  really  to  be 
read  from  left  to  right.  The  appearance  of  these 
few  signs  in  his  published  letters  were  the  first 
sight  which  Europe  gained  of  the  appearance  of 
the  written  language  of  ancient  Persia.  His  let- 
ters were  repeatedly  reprinted  and  must  have  had 
an  extensive  circulation.  So  came  the  learned  of 
Europe  to  know  that  the  ancient  Persians  had 
carved  some  sort  of  language  on  the  rocks  at 
Persepolis,  but  what  these  signs  might  mean  none 
knew,  and  there  was  apparently  no  clue  to  their 
meaning.  But  to  Pietro  della  Valle  belongs  the 
honor  of  beginning  the  long  line  of  men  who  con- 
tributed little  by  little  toward  the  reading  of  As- 
syrian and  Babylonian  books.' 

'  Pietro  della  Valle  was  a  man  of  learning  in  his  age,  writing  and  speak- 
ing Turkish,  Persian,  and  Arabic,  and  possessing  some  knowledge  of  Cop- 
tic. He  was  a  close  and  careful  observer,  and  accurate,  for  the  greater 
part,  in  the  reproduction  of  his  observations.  A  brief  sketch  of  his  life  is 
printed  in  the  introduction  to  Tlie  Travels  of  Pietro  della  Valle  in  India, 
from  the  old  English  translation  of  1G64,  by  G.  Havers.  In  2  vols. 
Edited  by  Edward  Grey.     London.    Printed  for  the  Hakluyt  Society,  1892. 


18       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Pietro  della  Valle  was,  however,  not  long  left  in 
possession  of  the  honors  of  primacy  in  his  exami- 
nation of  Persepolis.  In  1627  Sir  Dodmore  Cotton, 
accredited  to  the  Persian  court  as  ambassador,  sailed 
away  from  England.  In  his  suite  was  a  boy  of 
nineteen  years  of  age,  by  name  Thomas  Herbert. 
The  party  landed  at  Gombrun,  Persian  Gulf,  on 
Januaiy  10,  1627-8,  and  thence  proceeded  to 
Ashraff  for  an  audience  with  the  king.  They  later 
visited  Mount  Taurus  and  Casbin,  where  Cotton 
and  Sir  Robert  Shirley,  who  was  also  in  the  suite, 
died,  and  Herbert  was  left  free  to  continue  his  trav- 
els. Herbert  saw  much  of  Persia  and  of  Baby- 
lonia before  reaching  England  at  the  end  of  1629. 
In  1634  he  published  an  account  of  these  travels 
and  devoted  a  few  pages  to  Persepolis  and  Chil- 
manor.'  In  his  description  he  is  very  entertain- 
ingly discursive  concerning  the  "  Images  of  Lions, 
Tygres,  Griffins,  and  Buls  of  rare  sculpture  and 
proportion  "  *  which  he  saw  there,  but  he  says  not 
a  word  about  inscriptions.  In  1638  he  issued  a 
second  edition,  considerably  enlarged,  in  which  Per- 
sepolis receives  more  attention,  and  is  introduced 
in  quaint  and  enthusiastic  phrase,  thus : 

"  Let  us  now  (what  pace  you  please)  to  Persep- 
olis, not  much  out  of  the  road:  but  were  it  a 
thousand  times  further,  it  merits  our  paines  to 

•  A  I  Relation  |  of  some  yeares  |  travaile,  begunne  |  Anno  1626  |  Into 
Afrique  and  the  greater  Asia,  especially  |  the  Territories  of  the  Persian 
Monarchie :  and  |  some  parts  of  the  Orientall  Indies,  |  and  isles  Adjacent. 
.  .  .  by  T.  H.  Esquier.     London,  1634,  pp.  56-60. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  59. 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        19 

view  it;  beiug  indeed  the  only  brtive  Antique- 
Monument  (not  in  Persia  alone)  but  through  all 
the  Oiient." ' 

In  this  edition  he  comes  up  to  the  question  of 
inscriptions,  and  so  alludes  to  them : 

"  In  paiii  of  this  great  roome  (not  f arre  fi'om  the 
portall)  in  a  mirrour  of  polisht  marble,  wee  noted 
above  a  dozen  lynes  of  strange-characters,  very  f  aire 
and  apparent  to  the  eye,  but  so  mysticall,  so  odly 
framed,  as  no  Hierogliphick,  no  other  deep  conceit 
can  be  more  difficultly  fancied,  more  adverse  to 
the  intellect.  These  consisting  of  Figures,  obelisk, 
triangular,  and  pyi'amidall,  yet  in  such  Simmetiy 
and  order  as  cannot  well  be  called  barbarous.  Some 
resemblance,  I  thought  some  words  had,  of  the  An- 
tick  Greek,  shadowing  out  Ahasuerus  Theos.  And, 
though  it  have  small  concordance  with  the  Hebrew, 
Greek,  or  Latine  letter,  yet  questionlesse  to  the  In- 
venter  it  was  well  knowne;  and  peradventure  may 
conceale  some  excellent  matter,  though  to  this  day 
wrapt  up  in  the  dim  leaf es  of  envious  obscuritie." ' 

Even  here  Herbert  did  not  cease  the  work  of 
elaborating  his  description  of  Persepolis.  He  did, 
however,  rest  a  few  years,  and  in  that  time  another 
traveler  had  seen  the  ruins.  This  was  J.  Albert 
de  Mandelslo,  a  member  of  an  "  Embassy  sent  by 
the  Duke  of  Holstein  to  the  great  Duke  of  Mus- 
covy and  the  King  of  Persia,"  who  traveled  in  the 
East  1638-1640.     The  account  of  his  wanderings 

'  Ibid.,  second  edition,  p.  143, 

"  Some  yeares  |  Travels  |  into  |  Divers  Parts  of  |  Asia  and  Afrique  |  .  .  . 
Revised  and  enlarged  by  the  Author.     London,  1638,  pp.  14.5,  140. 


20       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

was  written  down  by  Olearius,  secretary  to  the 
embassy,  and  an  Englisli  translation  appeared  in 
1662.  Mandelslo  also  described  the  columns  as 
usual  and  tlien  added  this  statement : 

"Near  these  chambers  may  be  seen,  engraven 
upon  a  square  pillar,  certain  unknown  characters, 
which  have  nothing  common  with  either  the  Greek, 
Hebrew,  or  Arabian,  nor  indeed  with  any  other  lan- 
guage. There  are  twelve  lines  of  these  characters, 
which,  as  to  their  figure,  are  triangular,  Piramidal, 
or  like  obelisques,  but  so  well  graven  and  so  pro- 
portionate, that  those  whot  did  them  cannot  be 
thought  Barbarians :  Some  believe,  they  are  Teles- 
mes,  and  that  they  contain  some  secrets  which  Time 
will  discover." ' 

In  1677  Herbert  issued  the  fourth  impression  of 
the  account  of  his  travels.  In  this  he  devotes  still 
more  space  to  Persepolis  and  its  inscriptions,  and  it 
is  altogether  probable  that  he  was  moved  to  this 
by  Mendelslo's  book,  and  being  desirous  that  he 
should  not  lose  the  credit  of  being  first  to  publish 
a  copy  of  the  inscriptions,  he  includes  a  specimen 
plate.  In  its  revised  form  the  account  deserves 
quotation  here : 

"  Adjoyning  these  toward  the  West  is  a  Jasper 

'  The  first  edition  which  I  have  been  able  to  find  of  Mendelslo's  travels 
appeared  at  Utrecht  in  1651,  in  Neer  duyts  overgeset  door  D.  V.  Wagen- 
hige.  The  first  German  edition  which  I  have  seen  was  published  at 
"  Schleszwig  In  Jahr  MDCLVI."  The  first  English  edition  bears  title-page 
thus :  JTie  Voyages  &  Travels  of  the  Ambassadors  sent  by  Frederick,  Duke 
of  Holstein  .  .  .  written  originally  by  Adam  Olearius,  Secretary  to  the 
Embassy.  Faithfully  rendered  into  English,  by  John  Davies  of  Kidwelly. 
London,  M.DC.LXII.     P.  5. 


EAKLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        21 

or  Marble  Table  about  twenty  foot  from  the  pave- 
ment, wherein  are  inscribed  about  twenty  lines  of 
Characters,  every  line  being  a  yard  and  a  half  broad 
or  thereabouts ;  all  of  them  are  very  perfect  to  the 
eye,  and  the  stone  so  well  polished  that  it  reserves 
its  lustre.  The  Characters  are  of  a  strange  and  un- 
usual shape ;  neither  like  Letters  nor  Hieroglyph- 
icks ;  yea  so  far  from  our  deciphering  them  that 
we  could  not  so  much  as  make  any  positive  judg- 
ment whether  they  were  words  or  Characters; 
albeit  I  rather  incline  to  the  first,  and  that  they 
comprehended  words  or  syllables,  as  in  Brachy- 
ograpJiy  or  Short-writing  we  familiarly  practise : 
Nor  indeed  could  we  judge  whether  the  writing 
were  from  the  right  hand  to  the  left,  according 
to  the  Qhaldee,  and  usual  manner  of  these  Orien 
tal  Countreys ;  or  from  the  left  hand  to  the  right, 
as  the  Greeks,  Romans  and  other  Nations  imita- 
ting their  Alphabets  have  accustomed.  Neverthe- 
less, by  the  posture  and  tendency  of  some  of  the 
Characters  (which  consist  of  several  magnitudes) 
it  may  be  supposed  that  this  vsrriting  was  rather 
fi'om  the  left  hand  to  the  right,  as  the  Armenian 
and  Indian  do  at  this  day.  And  concerning  the 
Characters,  albeit  I  have  since  compared  them 
with  the  twelve  several  Alphabets  in  Postellus,  and 
after  that  with  those  eight  and  fifty  different  Alpha- 
bets I  find  in  Purchas,  most  of  which  are  borrowed 
from  that  learned  Scholar  Gromay,  which  indeed 
comprehend  all  or  most  of  the  various  forms  of 
letters  that  either  now  or  at  any  time  have  been 


22       HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

in  use  through  the  greatest  part  of  the  Universe, 
I  could  not  perceive  that  these  had  the  least  re- 
semblance or  coherence  with  any  of  them :  which 
is  very  strange,  and  certainly  renders  it  the  greater 
curiosity ;  and  therefore  well  worthy  the  scrutiny 
of  some  ingenious  Persons  that  delight  themselves 
in  this  dark  and  difficult  Art  or  Exercise  of  deci- 
phering. For,  how  obscure  soever  these  seemed 
to  us,  without  doubt  they  were  at  some  time  un- 
derstood, and  perad  venture  by  Daniel^  who  prob- 
ably might  be  the  surveyour  and  instruct  the  Arch- 
itector  of  this  Palace,  as  he  was  of  those  mem- 
orable Buildings  at  Shuslian  and  Ecbatan  ;  for  it 
is  very  likely  that  this  structure  was  raised  by 
Astyages  or  his  Grandson  Cyrus  i  and  is  acknowl- 
edged that  this  great  Prophet  (who  likewise  was 
a  Civil  Officer  in  highest  trust  and  repute  dur- 
ing those  great  revolutions  of  State  under  the 
mighty  Monarchs  N'ebucliodonoso7\  Belsliazzai\ 
Astyages^  Darius^  and  Cyrus)  had  his  mysterious 
Characters :  So  as  how  incommunicable  soever 
these  Characters  be  to  us  (for  they  bear  the  resem- 
blance of  pyramids  inverted  or  with  bases  up- 
wards. Triangles  or  Delta's,  or  (if  I  may  so  com- 
pare them)  with  the  Lamed  in  the  Samaritan 
Alphabet,  which  is  writ  the  contrary  way  to  the 
same  letter  in  the  Chaldee  and  Hebrew\  yet  doubt- 
less in  the  Age  these  were  engraven  they  were 
both  legible  and  intelligible ;  and  not  to  be  im- 
agined that  they  were  there  placed  either  to 
amuse  or  to  delude  the  spectators ;  for  it  cannot 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        23 

be  denied  but  that  the  Persians  in  those  primi- 
tive times  had  letters  peculiar  to  themselves, 
which  differed  from  all  those  of  other  Nations, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  a  learned  Author, 
Persae  proprios  habebant  Characteres^  qui  hodie  in 
vestigiis  antiquorum  Monumentoriim  moo  inveni- 
unter.  However,  I  have  thought  fit  to  insert  a 
few  of  these  for  better  demonstration : 

't"t"  T  :fc»-TTT6..'riT  E  *<<  S=  <^  11<.. 
T<-\«TT^<«lT^::^r    \ 
<-  TT<--Tti<t:<<tT^«X< 

which  nevertheless  whiles  they  cannot  be  read, 
will  in  all  probability  like  the  Mene  Tekel  with- 
out the  help  of  a  Daniel  hardly  be  interpreted." ' 
These  quotations  from  the  successive  editions 
of  Herbert  show  a  book  in  the  very  process  of 
growth,  but  they  unfortunately  do  not  show  much 
development  of  the  author's  knowledge.  Herbert 
had,  however,  in  the  fourth  impression  consulted 
his  notes  to  greater  advantage,  and  brought  forth 
from  them  some  copies  of  cuneiform  signs.  These 
were  the  first  that  had  been  published  in  England, 
but  unhappily  they  did  not  form  a  complete  in- 
scription. The  first  two  lines  come  from  one  in- 
scription, and  the  third  from  another,  and  the 
copying  was  not  very  well  done.     It  was  a  pity 

'  Some  Years  |  Travels  |  into  |  Divers  Parts  |  of  |  Africa  and  Asia  the 
Great  |  .  .  .  |  In  this  fourth  Impression  are  added  (by  the  Author  now- 
living)  as  well  many  Addi  |  tions  throughout  the  whole  work,  as  also  sev- 
eral Sculptures,  never  before  Printed.  |  London,  1677,  pp.  141,  142. 


24       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

that  Herbert  had  not  taken  the  time  and  pains 
necessary  to  make  a  complete  as  well  as  a  correct 
copy  of  one  inscription  however  small.  That 
would  have  been  a  genuine  contribution  to  learn- 
ing. As  it  happened  Herbert's  book  contributed 
nothing  of  scientific  importance  to  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge  concerning  the  East.  It  is,  however, 
certainly  true  that  this  entertainingly  written  nar- 
rative may  have  influenced  later  work  by  arousing 
fresh  interest  in  the  ruined  palaces,  and  the  mystic 
inscriptions  at  Persepolis. 

The  copies  of  a  few  signs  by  Pietro  della  Valle 
and  by  Herbert,  however,  aroused  no  special  inter- 
est, and  there  was  in  reality  hardly  enough  of  these 
signs  even  to  awaken  curiosity. 

In  the  same  manner  the  few  signs  which  an 
English  traveler,  Mr.  S.  Flower,  copied  and  pub- 
lished in  England  failed  of  arousing  any  interest 
in  the  rocks  and  their  inscriptions  at  Persepolis.' 

The  first  real  impulse  to  an  attempt  at  unravel- 
ing the  secrets  of  Persepolis  was  given  by  Sir  John 
Chardin.  Born  at  Paris  in  1643,  and  early  a  wan- 
derer, this  man,  after  long  voyages,  saw  the  rocks 
at  Persepolis."  Many  things  he  had  learned  in 
his  journeyings,  and  among  them  had  found  how 
important  it  was  to  make  copies  of  inscriptions, 
whether  one  could  read  them  or  not.  He  was  the 
first  to  copy  one  of  these  little  Persian  inscriptions 

'  These  copies  of  Mr.  Flower  had  a  most  singular  history,  an  outline  of 
which  is  given  in  the  Excursus  below,  see  p.  74. 

*  Voyages  de  Monsieitr  le  Chevalier  Chardin,  en  Perse  et  autres  lieux  de 
V  Orient,  3  torn.     Amsterdam,  1711. 


rYr^TTrYEdrTTf?r-<vTrr<r<rHrK^fr  mnK'TK^<<rKK<KT<-  m  \ 


jl  Jl  Reduced  ttom  the    Plate   in   Chardin's  Voyages.  W^ 

'■  "^  Vol.  III.  Page  118.  '^ 


155 


if; 


^«  .,.____....„............, _.  7 


KT*  ^4 


c 


ptinn  ni  the  lop  of  ilie  pnge  iji  Pcrtiinn,  the  one  on  the  K-'ft  hnnd  ^ 

,      le  one  on  the  rlglil  U  Bnbvloniaii.  HW 


9 


U  The  First  Pkhskfoi-IS  IsscuiPiinss  Topied  EhriRB.  ^ 


c 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.       25 

entire.  When  this  was  published '  it  was  at  last 
possible  for  students  to  see  some  of  the  peculiari- 
ties of  this  method  of  writing.  It  was  now  plainly 
seen  that  the  characters  were  made  up  of  little 
wedo-es  and  arrowheads — of  which  the  latter  were 
formed  by  the  combination  of  two  of  the  former. 
By  combinations  of  these  wedges  and  an-owheads 
the  most  complex-looking  signs  "were  produced. 
In  all  of  them  this  one  abiding  rule  seemed  to  be 
followed,  that  the  wedges  always  j)ointed  to  the 
right  or  downward,  and  that  the  arrowheaded 
forms  were  always  open  toward  the  right.  The 
prevalence  of  this  rule  seemed  to  confirm  the  guess 
already  hazarded  more  than  once  that  the  language 
was  really  to  be  read  from  left  to  right.  But, 
though  Chardin's  published  inscription  awakened, 
for  the  first  time,  some  genuine  interest  in  the 
matter,  there  was  found  no  man  so  bold  as  to  essay 
a  decipherment  of  the  enigmatic  signs. 

After  Chardin  the  next  man  to  see  the  ruins  of 
Persepolis  was  Jean  Baptiste  Tavernier,  who  was, 
however,  too  much  interested  in  himself  and  in  his 
reception  by  the  king  to  pay  much  attention  to 
the  past  and  its  great  monuments.  But  in  a  short 
time  there  came  another  traveler  who  was  inter- 
ested in  the  past  more  than  the  present.  On  June 
13,  1693,  Giovanni  Francesco  Gemelli-Carreri 
started  away  from  Naples  to  make  the  circuit  of 
the  globe,  and  to  the  same  city  he  returned  Decem- 
ber 3, 1699,  having  accomplished  the  task.    In  1694 

A  '  I'lid.,  torn.  Hi,  plate  at  p.  118. 


26       HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

lie  was  in  Persia  and  naturally  visited  tlie  ruins  of 
Persepolis.  He  is  very  explicit  in  his  statements 
as  to  how  he  traveled  to  the  ruins  and  is  careful 
in  reporting  the  dimensions  of  everything  which 
he  saw.  After  some  preliminary  description  he 
makes  some  statements  about  the  inscriptions  in 
this  form : 

"  On  the  South  Side  outwards  there  is  an  In- 
scription cut  on  an  empty  space  15  spans  long, 
and  7  broad,  in  such  a  character  that  there  is  now 
no  understanding  Person  in  the  World  that  can 
make  anything  of  it.  It  is  neither  Caldee,  nor 
Hebrew,  nor  Arabick,  nor  Greek,  nor  of  any  of 
those  Languages  the  Learned  have  Knowledge, 
but  only  Triangles  of  several  Sorts,  severally 
plac'd,  the  various  placing  whereof  perhaps 
formed  divers  words,  and  express'd  some  Thoughts. 
The  most  receiv'd  Opinion  is,  that  they  are  Char- 
acters of  the  ancient  Goris,  who  were  Sovereigns 
of  Persia ;  but  this  is  not  easily  to  be  made  out, 
the  Goris  themselves  being  at  present  very  igno- 
lant  as  to  their  Antiquities,  and  unfit  to  give  any 
Judgment  of  such  things.  .  .  .  Not  far  off  on  a 
Pilaster  of  the  same  black  marble,  is  an  Inscrip- 
tion in  the  same  Character,  and  another  on  such 
another  Stone ;  which  I  observing,  and  remember- 
ing those  I  had  seen  before,  began  to  consider 
with  myself,  how  easily  human  Judgment  is  mis- 
taken, and  how  different  things  happen  to  what 
Man  proposes  to  himself ;  for  whereas  the  Author 
thought  by  means  of   those  inscriptions  to  have 


EARLY  TRAVELERS   AND  DECIPHERERS.        27 

eterniz'd  his  Memory  with  Posterity,  which  the 
beauty  of  the  work  well  deserv'd,  yet  quite  the 
contrary  we  see  is  fallen  out.  .  .  . 

"  Such  precious  Remains  of  Antiquity  well  de- 
serve to  be  cut  in  Copper  for  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Ingenious,  before  they  are  quite  lost  through  the 
fault  of  the  natives ;  but  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to 
draw  above  two  thousand  Basse  Relieves,  and  a 
vast  charge  to  print  them.  The  Reader  therefore 
Avill  think  it  enough  that  I  have  drawn  the  Plan 
of  the  Palace,  with  some  of  the  principal  Figures ; 
that  there  may  be  some  knowledge  of  the  several 
Habits  of  the  antient  Persians ;  and  two  lines 
of  twelve  there  are  in  the  inscription  on  the  Pilas- 
ter of  the  first  Floor ;  perhaps  hereafter  some  more 
fortunate  searcher  into  the  oriental  languages  may 
employ  his  wit  on  it. 

"  Having  veiy  well  spent  all  the  Day  in  seeing 
and  distinctly  observing  the  best  part  of  those 
Antiquities,  I  returned,  and  was  scarce  come  to 
the  place  where  I  had  left  my  Armenian  Servant 
before  I  hear'd  him  as'k  me  whether  I  had  found 
the  Treasure ;  he  believing  the  Inscriptions  were 
in  Portugese,  and  that  I  had  Read  them  and  taken 
the  Treasure,  as  the  Carvansedar  had  told  him ; 
which  made  me  laugh  heartily  all  the  Way." 

By  the  side  of  this  narrative  Carreri  presents  a 
copperplate  illustration  of  the  platform  at  Perse- 
polis,  showing  the  columns  of  the  palace  still 
standing  in  front  of  the  mountain.  Above  this 
picture  are  two  lines  of  inscription  as  follows : 


28       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


[Reproduced  in  the  same  size  as  the  copy  given  in  Churchill's  republica- 
tion  of  Carreri's  narrative.'] 

It  is  evidently  tlie  purpose  of  Carreri  to  leave 
upon  the  reader's  mind  the  impression  that  he  had 
copied  these  characters  himself.  This,  however, 
is  certainly  not  true.  A  slight  examination  and 
comparison  reveal  the  fact  that  these  two  lines 
are  made  up  out  of  the  three  lines  of  Herbert, 
with  but  slight  changes.  Here,  then,  is  a  clear 
case  of  deception  proved  at  once  upon  the  Nea- 
politan. He  has  borrowed,  and  that  rather  stu- 
pidly, from  his  English  predecessor.  In  this 
matter,  at  least,  he  has  made  no  contribution  to 
the  search  for  facts  about  records  at  Persepolis. 
To  make  the  matter  rather  worse,  the  picture  of 
the  platform  at  Persej)olis,  which  he  gives  beneath 
his  plate  of  inscriptions,  is  also  borrowed  without 
acknowledgment.  It  had  already  appeared  in 
Daulier-Deslandes.' 

His  f)unishment  has  been  severe.     It  has  even 

'  A  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels  [Churchills].  Vol.  iv.  London, 
MDCCIV.  Containing  pp.  1-606.  A  Voyage  round  the  World.  By  Dr.  John 
Francis  Gemelli-Carreri.  .  .  .  Translated  from  the  Italian,  pp.  1*72,  174. 
Plate  p.  175.  The  plate  is  better  reproduced  in  Voyage  du  Tour  du  Monde 
Traduit  de  Vllalien  de  Gemelli  Careri,  par  M.  L.  N.  Paris,  MDCCXXVII. 
P.  246.     Should  be  p.  402.     The  pagination  is  incorrect. 

*  Les  Beaufez  de  la  Perse  .  .  .  par  le  Sieur  A.  D,  D.  V.  {Andrae 
Danlier  Des  Lands  Vardomois.)     Paris,  M.DC.LXXIII. 


K\RLY  TRAVELERS  AND   DECIPHERERS.        29 

been  this,  that  men  have  been  moved  to  say  that 
Carreri  copied  nmch  more  than  the  plate  of  in- 
scriptions and  the  Plan  of  Persepolis ;  that  he 
copied,  indeed,  everything  in  his  book,  and  had 
never  been  absent  from  Naples  at  all,  nor  had 
seen  anything  which  he  describes.  This  is,  how- 
ever, an  excess  of  skepticism.  He  doubtless  bor- 
rowed much  from  his  predecessors,  a  common 
habit  then,  and  not  altogether  unknown  among 
travelers  even  now,  but  there  is  really  no  reason 
to  believe  that  the  whole  of  Carreri's  narrative 
was  fictitious. 

But  that  question  aside,  the  book  of  Carreri  is 
of  importance  in  the  history  of  decipherment ;  not 
indeed  that  his  copy  or  his  description  was  of 
any  practical  use,  but  because  his  book  was  widely 
read  in  Europe,  and  had  its  share  in  keeping  alive 
the  interest  in  Persepolis  and  in  stimulating  more. 
And  that  was  no  mean  service. 

The  slow  assaults  upon  these  inscriptions  at  Per- 
sepolis w^ere  now  becoming  international.  The 
Spanish,  Italians,  English,  and  French  had  all 
made  their  observations.  It  was  now  in  order 
that  a  German,  Engelrecht  Kaempfer,  should  make 
his  contribution  to  the  unraveling  of  the  mystery. 
Kaempfer  was  a  physician,  born  and  trained  in 
Germany,  but  largely  become  a  Hollander  by  resi- 
dence and  service.  He  had  already  made  important 
contributions  to  science  through  long  residence  in 
Japan,  where  he  had  studied  the  botany  and  then 
the  manners,  customs,  and  the  history  of  that  then 


30       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

unknown  land.  From  the  mystery  of  Japan  he 
tiii'ned  to  the  mystery  of  Persia,  and  not  knowing 
exactly  what  he  did,  copied  again  the  little  three- 
line  inscription  which  Chardin  had  already  pre- 
pared for  publication.  That  would  have  been  no 
new  contribution  to  the  work  had  he  gone  no 
further,  but  he  made  a  gain  by  publishing  for  the 
first  time  a  long  inscription,  which  was  not  in  old 
Persian  at  all,  but  in  Assyro-Babylonian.'  The 
difference  between  the  two  inscriptions  he  does 
not  appear  to  have  noticed,  and  he  certainly  did 
not  know  in  what  language  or  languages  these  texts 
might  be  written.  The  longer  inscription  appears 
to  have  interested  him  most,  and  upon  this  he  made 
some  observations  which  sprang  naturally  out  of  his 
former  studies  in  Chinese  and  Japanese.  His  ques- 
tion was  in  simplest  form  this :  Have  we  in  these 
strange-looking  inscriptions  a  language  written  in 
alphabetic,  in  syllabic,  or  in  ideographic  characters  ? 
Or,  in  another  form ;  do  these  little  wedge-shaped 
signs  represent  in  each  case  a  letter,  a  syllable,  or 
a  word  ?  His  decision  was  that  the  signs  were 
ideographic,  each  of  them  representing  an  idea  or 
a  word.  If  he  had  reference  in  this  judgment  only 
to  his  longer  inscription,  and  not  to  the  smaller 
one  at  all,  his  decision  was  correct,  and  may  very 

'  Kaempfer's  important  investigations  are  published  in  his  great  book, 
Amoenitatum  ezoticarum  politico-physico-medicarum,  fasciculi  v,  quibus 
continenter  variae  relationes,  observationes  &  descriptiones  rerum  Persica- 
rum  &  ulterioris  Asiae,  multa  atfentione,  in  peregrinationibus  per  univer- 
suni  Orientem,  collectae  ab  auctore  Engelberto  Kaempfero.  D.  Lemgoviae, 
1712.     Quart. 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND   DECIPHERERS.        31 

possibly  have  influenced  those  who  came  after  him 
to  a  proper  decision  at  the  beginning  of  their  re- 
searches. 

Kaempfer  spent  the  later  days  of  his  life  in  the 
Netherlands.  His  work  might  almost  entirely  be 
claimed  as  Holland's  contribution  to  this  inter- 
national enterprise  if  there  were  any  need  so  to 
do.  But  Holland  was  now  to  make  its  own  direct 
contribution  through  one  of  its  own  sons,  Cornells 
de  Bruin,  who  visited  the  ruins  in  1704,  and  also 
copied  inscriptions  there.  Ten  years  later  an  ac- 
count of  his  travels  over  Moscovia,  Persia,  and  India 
was  published  in  sumptuous  style  in  Amsterdam. 
In  this  new  work  there  were  reproduced  two 
inscriptions  in  a  threefold  form.  In  reality  the 
threefold  form  was  later  discovered  to  be  three 
languages,  but  Bruin  believed  that  he  had  really 
published  six  inscriptions,  and  not  merely  two  in- 
scriptions repeated  in  three  languages.  Bruin 
reproduced  two  other  inscriptions  each  in  a 
single  language.  Bruin's  book  was  first  pub- 
lished in  Dutch,"  but  afterward  appeared  in 
French."  Its  influence  upon  the  progress  of 
these  studies  was  surprisingly  small.  The  very 
costliness  of  its  magnificent  original  publication 
might  have  made  it  accessible  to  few,  and  in  this 

'  Cornells  de  Bruhis  Reizen  ovei-  Moskovie,  door  Persie  en  Indie.  t'Am- 
steldam,  1714.  Folio.  Between  pages  216  and  21*7  are  magnificent  cop- 
perplate views  of  the  ruins  at  Persepolis,  and  between  21*7  and  218  are  the 
copies  of  the  inscriptions,  numbered  131,  134. 

-  Voyages  de  Corneille  le  Brun  par  la  Moscovie,  en  Perse,  et  aux  Indes 
Orientales,  2  torn,  a  Amsterdam,  1718.  The  plates  in  this  edition  are  in- 
serted in  vol.  ii,  between  pages  270  and  271,  and  between  272  and  273. 


32       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

there  is  possibly  some  explanation  of  its  slight 
influence.  But  the  French  edition,  in  a  language 
more  extensively  used,  and  in  a  form  more  simple, 
must  have  had  a  considerable  circulation.  Yet 
even  from  this  there  came  no  impulse.  Europe 
looked  idly  over  the  plates  in  which  these  strange 
characters  ap2:)eared  and  apparently  made  no  at- 
tempt to  get  at  their  secret.  They  were  still  mat- 
ters of  curiosity,  but  their  publication  at  all  was 
an  achievement  which  could  not  be  permanently 
fruitless.  The  restless  spirit  of  man  would  be  in 
pursuit  of  them  shortly,  and  then  each  line  pub- 
lished by  one  traveler  after  another  would  be 
eagerly  scanned,  and  every  single  suggestion  or 
hint  weighed  and  considered.  Other  travelers 
planning  to  visit  these  same  lands  in  the  age 
before  guidebooks,  would  read  the  accounts  of 
their  predecessors,  and,  inspired  by  them,  would 
go  to  see  the  same  ruins  and  to  bring  back  more 
complete  copies  of  these  little  inscriptions.  In  this 
was  the  chief  hope  for  the  future.  All  the  copies 
which  were  yet  made  were  too  brief  to  offer  a 
good  chance  for  translation,  or  even  decipherment. 
They  were  furthermore  inaccurate  in  very  impor- 
tant matters.  There  could  be  no  hope  of  a  suc- 
cessful decipherment  until  the  quiet  scholar  in  his 
library  had  copies  in  which  every  line,  every 
wedge,  every  little  corner,  was  accurately  repro- 
duced. The  improvement  in  this  respect  had  thus 
far  not  been  great.  The  gain  had  been  chiefly  in 
the  number  of  texts  offered.     If  the  proposition 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        33 

made  by  the  Koyal  Society  of  Loudon,  wliea  Mr. 
Flower's  copies  were  first  presented,  in  1693,  had 
been  followed,  and  a  complete  copy  made  of  all 
these  inscriptions  by  a  competent  hand,  the  at- 
tempts to  decipher  would  have  undoubtedly  be- 
gun much  earlier  thau  they  did. 

In  this  story  of  a  slow-moving  effort  at  de- 
cipherment the  small  must  find  its  mention  along 
with  the  great;  and  there  is  need  to  turn  for  a 
moment  from  Persepolis  to  mention  the  publica- 
tion made  in  1762  of  a  beautiful  vase.'  Upon  this 
were  inscribed  at  the  upper  part  one  long  line  of 
cuneiform  characters,  followed  by  a  shorter  line  of 
the  same.  By  the  side  of  this  shorter  line  were 
some  hieroglyphic  characters.  Like  the  publica- 
tions which  preceded  it,  this  also  failed  of  any  in- 
fluence upon  the  progress  of  research  at  this  time. 
The  hieroglyphic  signs  were  not  yet  deciphered,  for 
the  Rosetta  stone  had  not  yet  been  found  by  Napo- 
leon's soldiers  as  they  threw  up  their  breastworks. 
If  the  Egyptian  could  have  then  been  read,  men 
would  certainly  have  seized  upon  this  little  vase 
as  containing  a  clue  to  the  decipherment  of  the 
cuneiform  characters.  It  would  then  have  appeared 
as  a  bilingual  text,  in  which  the  Egyptian  formed 
one  part  and  the  cuneiform  the  other.  By  this 
means  Egyptian  would  have  become  the  mother 
study  for  Assyrian.  Later  this  vase  played  a  part 
both  in  Egyptian  and  in  Assyrian  studies,  and  then 
it  became  known  that,  like  the  monuments  at  Per- 

'J^cMii  d'Antiquites.  .  .  .  torn,  cinquieme,  planche  xxx.     Paris,  1762. 


34       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

sepolis,  the  two  lines  of  cuneiform  texts  were  in 
reality  written  in  three  separate  languages.  The 
publication  of  the  inscriptions  on  the  vase  was 
made  by  the  French.  So  were  the  European  na- 
tions, one  by  one,  giving  their  share  of  time  and 
labor  to  the  international  work.  The  greater  ones 
among  them  had  now  done  something,  the  smaller 
had  yet  hardly  begun.  One  of  these,  the  people 
of  Denmark,  was  now  to  begin  making  contribu- 
tions of  great  importance  which  should  carry  the 
investigations  far  beyond  anything  that  had  yet 
been  attained.  In  the  month  of  March,  1765,  the 
ruins  of  Persepolis  were  visited  by  Carsten  Niebuhr. 
He,  like  some  of  his  predecessors,  had  had  long 
exj)erience  of  travel,  and,  unlike  the  others,  was  a 
man  of  exact  and  methodical  habits  of  work. 
He  had,  furthermore,  prepared  for  just  this  work 
by  a  perusal  of  Bruin  and  Chardin,  and  appar- 
ently, also,  even  by  the  reading  of  Pietro  della 
Valle.  The  references  which  he  gives  to  the  two 
former  show  the  continuity  of  study  and  indicate 
afresh  how  much  these  early  voyagers  had  really 
accomplished,  even  when  their  work  appeared  to 
count  for  little  at  the  time.  Mebuhr's  descrip- 
tion of  the  ruins  of  Persepolis  makes  careful  note 
of  the  changes  which  had  come  to  the  ruins  by 
the  ravages  of  time  and  the  hand  of  man  since 
Bruin  had  seen  them,  and  then  hurries  on  the  real 
matter  which  most  concerned  him.  His  distin- 
guished son  has  thus  set  forth  the  enthusiasm  and 
the  methods  of  Niebuhr  in  these  researches : 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        35 

"These  ruins,  iuscriptions,  and  bas-reliefs  had 
been  sufficiently  well  represented  by  three  former 
travelei's  to  arouse  the  attention  of  Niebuhr  as 
the  most  important  monument  of  the  East.  The 
immber  of  inscriptions  and  sculptures  made  him 
hope  that  an  interpreter  might  be  found  who,  by 
comparing  them,  would  be  able  to  understand 
them,  if  once  correct  copies  of  them  were  placed 
before  him ;  and  Niebuhr's  keen  eye  told  him  how 
insufficient  the  drawings  hitherto  published  were. 
Nothing  out  of  all  that  he  saw  in  Asia  attracted 
him  so  powei^Uy  in  anticipation ;  he  could  not 
rest  until  he  had  reached  Persepolis,  and  the  last 
night  saw  him  sleepless.  The  remembrance  of 
these  ruins  remained  ineffaceable  all  his  life  long ; 
they  were  for  him  the  gem  of  all  that  he  had 
viewed. 

"Three  weeks  and  a  half  he  remained  beneath 
them,  in  the  midst  of  a  wilderness;  and  during 
this  time  he  worked  without  interruption  at  the 
measurement  and  drawing  of  the  ruins.  The  in- 
scriptions are  placed  high  up  on  the  walls,  and 
were  clearly  to  be  distinguished  only  when  the 
sun  shone  upon  them;  as  in  this  atmosphere  the 
hard,  originally  polished  marble  is  not  weather- 
worn, his  eyes,  already  affected  by  the  uninter- 
rupted work,  were  dangerously  inflamed  ;  and  this, 
as  well  as  the  death  of  his  Armenian  servant, 
obliged  him,  much  against  his  will,  to  leave  the 
old  Persian  sanctuary  before  he  had  completed 
his  drawino^s." 


36       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

It  would  seem  from  this  tliat  it  was  the  design 
of  Niebuhr  to  copy  every  inscription  which  he 
could  find  at  Persepolis.  That  would  have  been  a 
great  task  indeed.  Even  without  this  complete- 
ness he  achieved  a  result  attained  by  no  one  who 
had  preceded  him.  He  republished  several  of 
the  texts  which  Bruin  and  Kaempfer  had  pub- 
lished before  him,  but  in  a  form  far  excelling 
them  for  accuracy.  To  these  he  added  four 
texts  which  had  not  before  appeared  in  any  work. 
But  Niebuhr  made  other  contributions  besides 
merely  reporting  the  state  of  the  ruins  and  giving 
coj^ies  of  the  inscriptions.  His  long  journeyings 
ended  in  Denmark  on  November  20,  1767.  A 
certain  amount  of  leisure  was  now  secured,  and 
while  writing  the  narrative  of  his  travels '  for  the 
press  he  went  over  these  little  inscriptions  and 
made  some  discoveries  concerning  them.  It  was 
in  the  first  place  clear  to  him  that  the  conjectures 
of  earlier  students,  that  this  writing  was  to  be  read 
from  left  to  right,  were  correct.  That  was  a  good 
point  of  approach,  and  with  that  in  mind  he  com- 
pared all  his  copies  and  soon  determined  that  in 
them  there  were  really  three  separate  systems  of 
writing.  These  three  systems  were  always  kept 
distinct  in  the  inscriptions.  In  one  of  them  the 
little  wedges  were  not  so  complex  in  their  com- 
binations, in  the  second  the  complexity  had  some- 

'  Carsten  Niebuhr,  Reisebeschreibung  nach  Arabien  und  andern  umliegen- 
den  Landern.  Kopenhagen,  1774-1837,  3  vols.  The  description  of  Persep- 
olis is  in  vol.  ii. 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.       37 

what  increased,  while  iu  the  third  it  had  become 
much  greater.  He  did  not,  however,  come  to  what 
now  seems  a  natural  conclusion,  that  three  lan- 
guages were  here  represented.  He  held  rather  to 
the  view  that  the  proud  builders  of  Persepolis  had 
carved  their  inscriptions  in  a  threefold  form,  the 
same  words  being  written  in  more  complicated 
characters.  Having  come  thus  far,  he  made  still 
another  step  in  advance.  He  divided  these  little 
inscriptions  into  three  distinct  classes,  according 
to  the  manner  of  their  writing,  calling  them  Class 
I,  H,  and  IH,  He  then  arranged  all  those,  which  he 
had  copied,  that  belonged  to  Class  I,  and  by  careful 
comparison  decided  that  in  them  there  were  em- 
ployed altogether  but  forty-two  (42)  signs.  These 
he  copied  out  and  set  in  order  in  one  of  his  plates.' 
This  list  of  signs  was  so  nearly  complete  and  accu- 
rate that  later  study  has  made  but  slight  changes 
in  it.  When  Niebuhr  had  made  his  list  of  signs 
he  naturally  enough  decided  that  this  language, 
whatever  it  might  be,  was  written  in  alphabetic 
characters.  This  much  was  finally  determined, 
and  future  investigation  would  not  overthrow  it. 
Far  beyond  all  his  predecessors  had  Niebuhr  gone. 
It  is  a  pity  that  he  was  not  able  to  go  still  further 
and  essay  the  decipherment  of  one  of  these  little 
inscriptions  of  the  first  class.  For  this,  however, 
he  did  not  possess  the  requisite  linguistic  genius, 
nor  had  he  at  command  the  various  historical 
data  necessary  for  its  solution.     He  had  given  the 

■  Jbid.,  vol.  ii,  plate  xxiii,  between  pp.  132  and  13.3. 


38      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

world  tlie  material  in  a  new  and  substantially  cor- 
rect form,  and  he  had  pointed  out  the  proper  place 
to  begin ;  the  rest  must  be  left  for  another. 

For  just  this  which  Niebuhr  had  furnished  the 
learned  world  had  been  waiting.  The  words  of 
Bruin  and  Chardin  had  awakened  no  scholar  to 
attempts  to  decipher  the  texts  which  they  had 
copied,  simply  because  so  little  had  been  offered 
by  them.  Soon  after  the  richer  store  of  Niebuhr 
had  been  published,  two  scholars  were  at  work 
seriously  attempting  to  decipher  these  texts.  The 
first  was  Olav  Gerhard  Tychsen,  professor  of  ori- 
ental languages  in  the  University  of  Rostock,  in 
Germany;  the  other  was  Friedrich  Miinter,  the 
Danish  academician  of  Copenhagen.  Tychsen 
made  a  very  important  discovery  in  the  beginning 
of  his  researches,  that  remained  to  guide  future 
workers.  He  observed  that  there  occurred  at 
irregular  intervals  in  the  inscriptions  of  the  first 
class  a  wedge  that  pointed  neither  directly  to  the 
right  nor  downward,  but  inclined  diagonally.  This 
wedge  Tychsen  suggested  was  the  dividing  sign 
used  to  separate  words.'  This  very  simple  discov- 
ery later  became  of  very  great  importance  in  the 
hands  of  Miinter.  Of  more  general  importance 
was  his  statement  that  "all  the  inscriptions  of 
Niebuhr,  with  a  single  exception,  are  trilingual."' 
In  that  sentence  spoke  a  linguist;    the  previous 

^  De  cuneatis  inscripiionibus  Persepolitanis  lucuhratio.     Kostochii,  1798, 
p.  24. 

"^  Ibid.,  p.  5. 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        39 

workers  had  been  travelers,  nien  of  science,  men 
of  skill.  The  matter  was  now  in  the  hands  of  men 
accustomed  to  deal  with  languages,  and  the  promise 
of  ultimate  success  was  yearly  growing  brighter. 
The  rest  of  Tychsen's  work  was  not  of  enduring 
character.  He  argued  wrongly  as  to  the  age  of 
the  buildings  at  Persepolis,  and  reached  the  er- 
roneous conclusion  that  these  inscriptions  had 
been  written  duriug  the  Parthian  dynasty  (246 
B.  C. — 22T  A.  D.).  This  error  in  history  vitiated 
his  promising  attempt  at  the  decipherment  of  one 
small  inscription  which  had  been  found  above  the 
figure  of  a  king.     He  rendered  it  thus : 

"  This  is  the  king,  this  is  Ai'saces  the  great,  this 
is  Arsaces,  this  is  Arsaces,  the  perfect  and  the  king, 
this  is  Arsaces  the  divine,  the  pious,  the  admirable 
hero." ' 

But  a  later  investigator  was  to  show  that  this 
was  not  an  inscription  of  Arsaces  at  all,  and  that 
scarcely  a  word  of  it  had  been  correctty  rendered. 
This  statement  makes  the  work  of  Tychsen  appear 
almost  abortive,  but  such  a  judgment  would  not 
be  just.  He  had  indeed  failed  in  the  greater  effort, 
but  in  making  that  he  had,  nevertheless,  gained 
several  smaller  steps,  and  at  the  place  thus  attained 
another  might  begin  and  travel  farther. 

Mtinter  was  more  fortunate  than  Tychsen  in  his 
historic  researches,  and  that  made  him  also  more 
successful  in  his  linguistic  attempts.  He  rightly 
identified  the  builders  of  Persepolis  with  the  AchaB- 

1  Jbid.,  p.  29. 


40       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

menides,  and  so  located  in  time  the  authors  of  the 
inscriptions.  This  was  great  gain,  the  full  force 
of  which  he  was  not  able  to  appreciate  nor  to  util- 
ize. He  also  agreed  with  the  judgment  of  the 
former  workers  that  the  texts  were  to  be  read 
from  left  to  right,  and  was  beyond  them  in  his 
full  recognition  of  three  languages,  of  which  the 
last  two  were  translations  of  the  first.  Independ- 
ently of  Tychsen,  he  recognized  the  oblique  wedge 
as  the  divider  between  words,  and  was  able  to  go 
far  beyond  this,  even  to  the  recognizing  of  the 
vowel  "  a  "  and  the  consonant  "  b."  This  was  the 
first  sure  step  in  the  decipherment.  From  our 
present  point  of  view  it  may  sound  small,  but  it  is 
to  be  remembered  that  it  was  made  without  the 
assistance  of  any  bilingual  text,  taken  bodily  out 
of  the  darkness  and  gloom  which  had  settled  over 
this  language  centuries  before.  It  was  an  achieve- 
ment far  exceeding  that  of  the  decipherment  of 
the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  which  was  secured  by 
the  aid  of  a  bilingual  text  containing  Greek.  The 
name  of  Miinter  may  well  be  held  in  honor  among 
all  who  covet  knowledge  of  the  past  of  the  Orient. 
With  the  material  which  Miinter  had  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  go  farther,  but  events  were 
now  to  make  accessible  to  another  man  of  genius, 
adapted  to  such  work,  new  material  w^hich  would 
greatly  simplify  the  labor  of  decipherment.  This 
new  material  did  not  directly  concern  the  inscrip- 
tions of  Persepolis,  but  it  did  cast  welcome  light 
upon  them.   It  is  connected  with  three  great  names 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        41 

in  the  annals  of  oriental  studies,  and  romantic  in 
its  personal,  as  in  its  scientific  connections. 

In  the  year  1731  tliere  was  born  at  Paris  a  boy 
whose  parents  gave  bim  the  name  of  Abraham 
Hyacinthe  Anquetil-Duperron,  and  destined  him 
to  the  priesthood.  In  the  seminary  studies,  carried 
on  for  this  purpose,  the  young  man  learned  He- 
brew, and  that  introduced  him  to  the  fascination 
of  the  oriental  world,  as  it  has  many  another  since 
his  day.  His  soul  forgot  its  dedication  to  the  priest- 
hood and  became  absorbed  in  oriental  study  at  the 
Royal  Library  of  Pans.  Here  he  attracted  the  no- 
tice of  Abbe  Sallier,  who  secured  for  him  a  small 
stipend  as  a  student  of  Arabic  and  Persian.  In 
that  treasure-house  of  human  knowledge  there  fell 
into  his  hands  a  few  leaves  of  an  oriental  manu- 
script, in  which  were  written  words  sacred  in  the 
religion  of  Zoroaster.  The  language  best  known 
as  Avestan,  but  long  erroneously  called  Zend,  he 
could  not  read,  and  his  soul  burned  with  longing 
to  learn  what  these  strange  characters  should  be, 
and  what  the  language  which  they  expi-essed.  He 
determined,  even  in  his  hopeless  poverty,  to  get 
out  to  India,  there  to  learn  from  the  priests  of 
Zoroastrianism  the  language  of  their  sacred  books. 
The  times  were  troubled;  war  was  likely  at  any 
time  to  begin  between  France  and  England  in  In- 
dia, and  even  now  French  troops  were  about  to  be 
dispatched  thither.  With  these  lay  his  only  hope 
of  reaching  the  land  of  his  dreams.     He  enlisted 

as  a  common  soldier,  but  before  he  had  sailed  from 
5 


42       HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

L'Orient  his  friends  had  appealed  to  the  minister, 
who  gave  him  a  discharge,  provided  free  passage, 
with  a  seat  at  the  captain's  table,  and  ordered  a 
salary  paid  him  on  arrival  at  his  destination.  He 
landed,  on  the  10th  of  August,  1755,  at  Pondi- 
cherry,  and  waited  a  short  time  to  study  modern 
Persian,  and  later  at  Chandernagore  to  study  Sans- 
krit. When  the  war  broke  out  between  France 
and  England  he  suffered  terrible  privations.  At 
last  his  reward  came  at  Surat,  where  he  ingratiat- 
ed himself  with  the  priests  and  acquired  enough 
knowledge  of  the  language  to  translate  the  dic- 
tionary Vedidad-Sade  and  other  works.  In  May, 
1762,  he  arrived  at  Paris  poor  and  exhausted,  but 
laden  with  oriental  manuscripts  to  the  number  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty.  Out  of  this  store  he  pub- 
lished in  1771  the  Zend-Avesta,  which  brought  to 
Europe  its  first  sight  of  the  sacred  books  of  the 
followers  of  Zoroaster.  This  publication  was  of 
immense  value  to  the  study  of  religion  and  of  his- 
tory, but  it  was  now  destined  to  exert  another 
potent  influence.  The  linguistic  collections  of 
Anquetil-Duperron  were  organized  and  systema- 
tized by  Eugene  Burnouf,  and  it  was  this  fact  that 
was  to  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  study 
of  the  inscriptions  of  Persepolis. 

After  Anquetil-Duperron  and  Eugene  Burnouf 
there  is  to  be  added  the  name  of  Silvestre  de  Sacy, 
the  greatest  Arabic  scholar  of  his  age,  as  one  who, 
without  intending  so  to  do,  cast  a  valuable  side 
light  upon  Persepolitan  research. 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        43 

In  Persia  travelers  liad  long  l:)een  noticing  in- 
scriptions written  during  the  Sassanian  period  in 
the  Pehlevi  character  (227-641  A.  D.).  In  the 
years  1787-1791  Sylvestre  de  Sacy,  -who  was  later 
to  lay  the  foundations  of  Arabic  philology  on 
which  its  pi'esent  structure  is  still  standing,  began 
the  decipherment  of  these  inscriptions,  and  soon 
conquered  their  mystery  sufficiently  to  gain  at 
least  their  general  sense.  He  found  that  they  had 
a  stereotyped  form  from  which  there  was  scarcely 
ever  a  departure,  and  that  they  run  about  in  this 
style : 

"  N.,  the  great  king,  the  king  of  kings,  the  king 
of  Iran  and  Aniran,  son  of  N.,  the  great  king,  etc." 

That  discovery  had  its  own  importance  in  its  own 
field,  but,  like  the  work  of  Duj^erron  and  Burnouf, 
it  was  now  to  be  applied  to  other  uses  by  a  man 
whose  aim  was  to  decipher  much  older  inscrip- 
tions. 

If  now  we  look  back  over  this  long  story,  reach- 
ing from  the  earlier  part  of  the  fourteenth  centuiy 
down  to  the  verv  besrinnino;  of  the  nineteenth, 
and  gather  up  the  loose  threads  of  our  story,  ^ve 
shall  be  the  better  able  to  understand  the  method 
and  the  results  which  were  now  to  be  revealed. 

Out  of  Persepolis,  by  the  combined  efforts  of  a 
long  line  of  travelers,  Italian,  Spanish,  Dutch,  Gei'- 
man,  English,  Danish,  and  Portuguese,  there  had 
been  brought  to  Europe  copies  of  some  little  in- 
scriptions written  in  cuneiform  characters.  It  had 
already  been  learned  concerning  them  that  they 


44       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

belonged  to  the  age  of  the  Achsemenides,  that  they 
were  written  in  three  languages,  of  which  the  first 
was  ancient  Persian,  that  this  ancient  Persian  was 
almost,  if  not  quite  wholly,  an  alphabetic  language, 
with  possibly  some  syllabic  signs,  and  that  of  these 
alphabetic  signs  two,  namely,  "a"  and  "b,"  were 
almost  certainly  made  out,  while  of  some  others 
possible  or  even  probable  meanings  were  suggested. 
To  this  were  now  to  be  added  two  valuable  side 
lights.  The  decipherment  of  the  Avestan  lan- 
guage had  supplied  the  grammatical  structure  and 
much  of  the  vocabulary  of  a  language  spoken 
over  the  very  same  territory  as  that  in  which  Per- 
sian had  formerly  held  dominion.  It  was  exceed- 
ingly probable  that  it  had  taken  up  many  words, 
with  some  changes,  from  the  more  ancient  tongue 
which  scholars  were  now  trying  to  decipher.  It 
was  likely,  also,  to  represent  in  its  grammatical 
structure,  in  its  declensions  or  conjugations,  some 
reminiscence  of  old  Persian.  In  grammar,  syntax, 
or  lexicon  of  Avestan  there  was  a  good  hope  of 
finding  something  that  might  be  made  useful  to 
the  deciphei'er.  Some  of  this  material  was  acces- 
sible to  Tychsen  and  to  Miinter,  but  they  had  not 
known  how  to  use  it  with  best  effect.  There  is  a  gift 
for  deciphering,  as  there  is  a  gift  of  tongues.  But 
not  only  from  this  work  of  Duperron  and  Burnouf 
was  there  new  material;  valuable  hints  might  be 
had  from  the  discoveries  of  De  Sacy  concerning 
the  inscriptions  of  Sassanian  kings.  The  style  in 
which  the  Sassanian  kings  wrote  their  inscriptions 


EARLY  TRAVELERS  AND  DECIPHERERS.        45 

was  very  probably  copied  from  the  style  in  which 
the  older  Achaemenides  had  written.  That  was 
not  certain,  but  as  a  hypothesis  upon  which  to 
work  it  might  prove  useful. 

In  this  we  have  shown  what  the  material  was, 
what  the  problem,  and  what  the  essays  made  for 
its  solution,  and  now  there  was  a  call  for  a  man 
able  to  practice  a  method  by  which  all  that  ex- 
isted of  fact  or  of  hypothesis  could  be  brought 
to  bear,  and  the  successful  result  be  achieved. 
But  even  while  this  preliminary  work  w^as  going 
on  the  genius  who  should  achieve  the  result  was 
preparing. 


46       HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  11. 

GEOTEFEND    AND    EAWLINSON. 

It  were  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  define  the 
qualities  of  mind  which  must  inhere  in  the  de- 
cipherer of  a  forgotten  language.  He  is  not  neces- 
sarily a  great  scholar,  though  great  scholars  have 
been  successful  decipherers.  He  may  know  but 
little  of  the  languages  that  are  cognate  with  the 
one  whose  secrets  he  is  trying  to  unravel.  He  may 
indeed  know  nothing  of  them,  as  has  several  times 
been  the  case.  But  the  patience,  the  persistence, 
the  power  of  combination,  the  divine  gift  of  in- 
sight, the  historical  sense,  the  feeling  for  archaeo- 
logical indications,  these  must  be  present,  and  all 
these  were  present  in  the  extraordinary  man  who 
now  attacked  the  problem  that  had  baffled  so  many. 

On  June  9,  1775,  Georg  Friedrich  Grotefend 
was  born  at  Mliuden,  in  Hanover,  Germany.  He 
w^as  destined  to  become  a  classical  philologist,  and 
for  this  purpose  studied  first  at  Ilfeld  and  later  at 
the  University  of  Gottingen.  Here  he  attracted 
much  attention,  not  only  as  a  classical  scholar  of 
promise,  but  also  as  an  ingenious  man  with  a  pas- 
sion for  the  unraveling  of  difficult  and  recondite 
questions.  He  formed  the  friendship  in  Gottingen 
of  Heyne,  Tychseu,  and  Heeren.  On  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  first  named,  he  was  appointed  in 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  47 

1797  to  au  assistant  mastership  iu  the  Gottingen 
Gymnasium.  Two  yeai's  later  appeared  his  first 
work,  which  brought  him  reputation  and  a  supe- 
rior post  in  the  Gymnasium  at  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  given  no  attention 
to  the  study  of  oriental  languages.  But  in  1802 
his  friend,  the  librarian  Fiorillo,  drew  the  attention 
of  Grotefend  to  the  inscriptions  from  Persepolis, 
and  placed  in  his  hands  all  the  literature  which 
had  hitherto  appeared. 

Grotefend  was  at  once  enlisted,  and,  though  he 
had  no  oriental  learning,  set  himself  to  the  work, 
probably  little  dreaming  of  how  many  years  of 
his  life  would  be  spent  upon  these  little  inscrip- 
tions or  upon  the  work  which  grew  out  of  them. 
His  method  was  exceedingly  simple,'  and  may  be 
made  j)erfectly  clear  without  the  possession  of  any 
linguistic  knowledge.  His  fundamental  principles 
and  his  simplest  facts  were  taken  over  bodily  from 
his  predecessors.  He  began  with  the  assumption 
that  there  w^ere  three  languages,  and  that  of  these 
the  first  was  ancient  Persian,  the  language  of  the 
Acha3menides,  who  had  erected  these  palaces  and 
caused  these  inscriptions  to  be  written.  For  his 
first  attempts  at  decipherment  he  chose  two  of 

'  Grotefend's  first  paper  was  written  In  Latin  {De  cimeatis,  quas  vacant 
inscriptionibus  persepolitanis  legendin  el  esplica?idis  relatio)  and  presented 
by  a  friend  to  the  Gottingen  Academy  September  4,  1802.  It  was  followed 
by  others  on  October  2,  November  13,  1802,  and  May  20,  1803.  None  of 
these  were  published  by  the  society.  The  original  papers  were  found  by 
Professor  Wilhelm  Meyer,  of  Gottingen,  in  the  society's  archives  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Kachrichten  von  der  Kdniylichen  Oesellschaft  der  wissenschaften 
zu  Gottingen,  1893,  No.  14. 


48      HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

these  old  Persian  inscriptions  and  laid  them  side  by 
side.  The  ones  which  were  chosen  were  neither  too 
long  nor  too  short ;  the  frequent  recurrence  of  the 
same  signs  in  them  seemed  to  indicate  that  their 
contents  were  similar,  and  finally  they  were  clearly 
and  apparently  accurately  copied  by  Niebuhr.  The 
inscriptions  thus  selected  were  those  numbered  "B" 
and  "  G  "  by  Niebuhr  (see  plate),  which,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  this  exposition,  may  be  designated  simply 
as  first  and  second  (I  and  II).  Following  Tychsen 
and  Miinter,  he  held  that  these  inscriptions,  which 
accompanied  figures  of  kings,  were  the  titles  of 
these  monarchs,  and  were  presumably  similar  to 
the  inscriptions  of  Sassanian  kings  which  De  Sacy 
had  just  deciphered.  Grotefend  placed  these  two 
inscriptions  side  by  side  and  carefully  examined 
them.  In  the  work  of  Mlinter  a  word  had  been 
pointed  out  which  appeared  frequently  in  these 
inscriptions,  sometimes  in  a  short  form  and  some- 
times longer,  as  though  in  the  latter  case  some 
grammatical  termination  had  been  added  to  it. 
In  these  two  inscriptions  this  word  appeared  both 
in  the  shorter  and  in  the  longer  form.  Grotefend 
was  persuaded  that  this  word  meant  king,  as  Mlin- 
ter had  discovered,  and  that  when  it  appeared 
twice  in  each  of  these  texts  in  exactly  the  same 
place,  first  the  shorter  and  then  the  longer  form,  the 
expression  meant  "king  of  kings."  A  glance  at 
the  plate  will  show  that  in  these  two  inscriptions, 
in  the  second  line,  after  the  first  word  divider,  ap- 
pear the  two  sets  of  signs  exactly  alike,  thus : 


"fr  m.^T.K-.>y^.<Tr.-^.<  ■«n.<(.m.y<v.Ky.Tr.K-.  v 


>Tg_vT>T_  T-  V  .<<IT.^.Trr.K-.KT  ■  ff.K- .  ^  .«yr  ,<<  .m 


K-.KT.Yf.K-.fyy.K  .  m .  -M.  v.«Ty.^<.m.  T<>  KT  YT  t<> 


Y<-  \  vf  -yty.  ^yry.  ^.  rf»y.  Yh  h -t^y . v.m.<t .  <Y?.  ^< .  <rY .  ^ . 


<<yy.«.y<r''^.^y .«  .^i^t  a.  «tt  . « .  tyy.  Y<>-.y<Y  yy.  y<-  \  .-y^.y--r.  h 


.Yt\.«YY.^.Y'yy.y<>:Y<Y.n.y<e.\.«(y.«.m.  y<-.y<y.  ?y  .  y<-.  yTy 


,i>-."v.>Mi.\\.ni  .ivTiv.i  I.  1"^ .  ^.^xir.\\.  "I .  rv.  i\i.  II.  !\  .  Ill 

Km-yry  A.fy.yTr.^y.K-.-y^  .<^<  xtr.  <<a  ^yy.^.yn .  K-.y<Y . 
yY^y<-><T<^.mA.ffXY7.YlA.<^<X<ir.m.-TTY.^<.R<<.Yr.K-A 

*  NiEBrHR  Tab.  xxiv.    G. 


•Ki*oiii  Nieltuhr.     ffrJ- 


INSCRIPTIONS     DECIPHERED     BY     GROTEFEND. 

l((ti</  mch  Arabien  H7iti  aiidem  vmHrgnuku  Lun-leni.     Kopoiiliagen,  1774-1834,  Rnntl  II,  |>.  lai.     Till),  XXIV. 


o 


('') 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  49 

this  is  followed  by  tlie  same  word,  but  much  in- 
creased in  length,  thus : 

«iT.«.w.  i^.iii.  W.  K'.  fir . 

The  supposition  was  that  (a)  meant  hing  while  (b) 
was  the  plural  and  meant  hing-s,  the  whole  ex- 
pression signifying  Jcing  of  kings.  But  further 
this  same  word,  supposed  to  be  king,  occurred 
again  in  both  inscriptions,  namely,  in  the  first  line, 
and  in  both  instances  it  was  followed  by  the 
same  word,  namely : 

^  ^  •  •        •       • 

Here,  then,  was  another  expression  containing  the 
word  king.  What  could  it  mean  ?  Grotefend  looked 
over  De  Sacy's  translations  of  Sassanian  inscrip- 
tions and  found  tliat  the  expression  "  great  king  " 
occurred  in  them,  and  then  made  the  conjecture 
that  this  was  the  same  expression,  and  that  (c) 
meant  "  great,"  hence  "  king  great,"  that  is,  great 
hing.  All  this  looked  plausible  enough,  but  it 
was,  after  all,  only  conjecture.  It  must  all  be  sup- 
ported by  definite  facts,  and  these  words  must 
each  be  separated  into  its  alphabetic  constituents 
and  these  understood,  and  supported  by  clear  evi- 
dence, before  anyone  would   or  could  believe  in 


50       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

the  decipherment.  To  this  Grotefend  now  bent 
every  energy.  His  method  was  as  simple  as  be- 
fore. He  had  made  out  to  his  own  satisfaction 
tlie  titles  "g]-eat  king,  king  of  kings."  Now,  in 
the  Sassanian  inscriptions  the  first  word  was  al- 
ways the  king's  name,  followed  immediately  by 
"  great  king,  king  of  kings ; "  it  was  probably  true 
in  this  case.  But,  if  true,  then  these  two  inscrip- 
tions were  set  up  by  different  kings,  for  the  name 
in  the  first  was : 

while  in  the  other  it  Avas  : 

««yT.^.T<|::YYT.tT.<<.^n. 

But  to  simplify,  or  to  complicate  the  matter,  as 
one  wall,  this  name  wdth  which  I  begins  appears 
in  n  in  the  third  line,  but  changed  somewhat  in 
its  ending,  so  that  it  stands  thus : 

(/)  n.  m.  ^T.K-rT^ .  <t-<  xn .  ^. 

From  its  situation  in  the  two  places  Grotefend 
concluded  that  (d)  was  the  name  in  the  nomina- 
tive and  (f)  was  the  same  name  in  the  genitive. 
Thus  I  begins  "  iV  great  Mng,  Icing  of  Mngs^''  and 
this  same  king  appears  in  H  thus:  ^^ of  N^  In 
number  n  this  name  was  followed  by  the  w^ord  for 
king,and  after  this  another  word  which  might  mean 
"  son,"  so  that  the  whole  phrase  in  11  would  be  "  of 
Nhing  son^^''  that  is,  ^'' son  of  N 'king ^^"^  the  order 


GROTEFEND  AND   RAWLINSON.  51 

of  words  being  presumably  different  from  tliat  to 
wMcli  we  are  accustomed.  But  this  same  word, 
which  is  supposed  to  mean  so?i,  appears  also  in  I, 
line  fiv^e,  thus: 

where  it  follows  a  name  which  does  not  possess 
the  title  king.  From  all  these  facts  Grotefend 
surmised  that  in  these  two  inscriptions  he  had  the 
names  of  three  rulers  :  (1)  the  grandfather,  who 
had  founded  a  dynasty,  but  did  not  possess  the 
title  of  king ;  (2)  the  son,  who  succeeded  him  and 
bore  the  title  of  king ;  and  (3)  the  grandson,  who 
also  had  the  same  title.  The  next  thing  to  do 
was  to  search  through  all  the  known  names  of  the 
Achamenides  to  find  three  names  which  should 
suit.  The  first  names  thought  of  were  Cambyses, 
Cyrus,  and  Cambyses.  These  will,  however,  not 
do,  because  the  name  of  the  grandfather  and  grand- 
son are  exactly  alike,  whereas  on  the  two  inscrip- 
tions they  are  different.  The  next  three  to  be 
considered  are  Hystaspes,  Darius,  Xerxes.  If 
these  be  correct,  then  the  seven  signs  with  which 
I  begins  must  be  the  name  Darius  (see  d  above). 
The  next  thing  in  order  was  to  find  the  form  of 
the  name  Darius  in  ancient  Persian.  Of  course 
Grotefend  did  not  expect  to  find  it  written  in  that 
way  exactly,  for  the  modern  European  spelling 
has  come  to  us  from  the  Greek,  and  the  Greeks 
were  not  careful  to  reproduce  exactly  the  names 
of   other  peoples  who  were,  in   their  view,  only 


52      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

barbarians.  He  ascertained  from  the  Hebrew 
lexicon  that  the  Hebrews  pronounced  the  word 
Daryavesh,  while  Strabo  in  one  passage,  in  trying 
to  represent  as  accurately  as  possible  the  Persian 
form,  gave  it  as  Dareiaves.  Neither  of  these  would 
work  very  well  into  the  seven  characters,  and  on 
a  venture  Grotefend  gave  the  word  the  form  of 
Darheush,  and  so  the  first  word  was  thus  to  be  set 
down 

D  A  R  H  E  U  SH 

That  seemed  to  fit  well  enough,  and  as  later  in- 
vestigations have  shown,  it  was  almost  wholly 
correct,  there  being  only  errors  in  H  and  E,  which 
did  not  vitiate  the  process,  nor  interfere  with  car- 
rying it  out  further.  The  next  task  was  to  make 
out  the  name  at  the  beginning  of  II.  This  was 
comparatively  easy,  for  nearly  all  these  same 
letters  were  here  again  used,  and  only  the  first  was 
wanting.  It  was  easy  to  supply  this  from  the 
Hebrew  form  of  the  name  and  also  from  the 
Avestan  language  so  recently  deciphered.  This 
name  was  therefore  read  thus : 

CH       SH      H        A       R        SH  A 

The  error  in  this  also  was  exceedingly  slight, 
when  one  considers  the  extreme  difficulty  of  the 
task  and  the  comparative  bluntness  of  this  tool  of 
conjecture  or  surmise  or,  to  put  it  boldly,  guess. 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  53 

This  name  was  supposed  to  be   the  Persian  form 
for  Xerxes. 

The  next  thing  in  order  was  to  find  the  letters 
for  the  third  name,  and  that  was  a  much  more 
difficult  problem.  This  was  the  name  which  ai> 
pears  in  I,  line  four,  last  word,  thus : 

Here  were  ten  signs.  Grotefend  believed  that 
this  word  was  in  the  genitive  case,  and  some  signs 
at  the  end  must  be  cut  off  as  the  genitive  ending. 
But  how  many  ?  That  was  the  question.  Per- 
haps the  Avestan  language  (then  called  Zend) 
would  help  him.  To  the  study  of  this  he  now 
had  recourse,  and  after  much  doubt  decided  to 
cut  off  the  last  three  as  ending,  and  take  what 
remained  as  the  king's  real  name.  The  name 
which  he  was  seeking,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
was  Hystaspes,  the  late  Persian  fonn  of  which 
Grotefend  followed,  and  thus  made  out  the  name  : 

G  O  SH  T  ASP 

In  this  word,  as  in  the  other  two,  later  discovery 
showed  that  he  had  made  a  mistake,  but  this 
time  only  in  the  first  two  characters.  To  Grote- 
fend's  own  mind  the  whole  case  seemed  clear  and 
indisputable,  for  the  same  characters  occurred  in 


54       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

all  three  names,  and  tlms  each  supported  the 
other.  At  this  time  the  Persian  alphabet  was  sup- 
posed to  contain  forty-two  alphabetic  characters, 
of  which  Grotefend  believed  that  he  had  found 
thirteen.  To  this  he  soon  added  more,  by  a  simple 
process  of  combination,  using  the  word  for  the 
name  of  god  in  these  texts,  namely,  Aurmazda. 
He  now  felt  himself  able  to  translate  these  in- 
scriptions in  part,  thus: 

I.  Darius,  the  mighty  king,  king  of  kings  .  .  . 
son  of  Hystaspes. 

II.  Xerxes,  the  mighty  king,  king  of  kings  .  .  . 
son  of  Darius,  the  king. 

This  was  an  epoch-making  result,  and  even  Gro- 
tefend with  all  his  enthusiasm  and  with  all  the 
confidence  of  genius,  did  not  fully  realize  it.  This 
much  he  was  anxious  to  get  before  the  learned 
world  for  acceptance,  or  perhaps  for  criticism.  That 
should  have  been  easy  indeed,  but,  in  fact,  it  was 
not  easy.  The  Gottingen  Academy  of  Sciences 
refused  absolutely  to  believe  in  his  methods  or  his 
results,  and  would  not  take  the  risk  of  disgracing 
itself  by  publishing  Grotefend's  i:)aper,  describing 
his  work,  in  its  transactions.'  He  was  not  an 
orientalist  at  all  l^y  training  or  experience,  and 
the  learned  men  of  Gottingen  who  were  oriental- 

'  This  refusal  is  the  more  noticeable  as  the  Academy  had,  in  the  very- 
beginning,  announced  that  Grotefend  "had  been  led  by  certain  historical 
presuppositions,  and  also  by  the  analogy  of  the  Sassanian  inscriptions,  to 
discover  in  the  shorter  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  Persepolis,  written  in  the 
first  and  simplest  of  the  three  forms  of  character,  which  he  had  examined 
with  this  purpose  in  view,  the  names  and  titles  of  Darius  and  Xerxes." — 
Gi}tfhif/ischc  Gelehrte  An~.eige7i.,^(i])iQmhcv  18,  1802  (Xo.  149). 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  55 

ists  asked  whether  "  any  good  thing  could  come 
out  of  Nazareth,"  that  is,  whether  a  man  who  was 
not  an  orientalist  could  possibly  offer  a  contribu- 
tion of  value  to  oriental  learning.  The  case  was 
a  sad  one  for  the  patient,  plodding  decipherer,  for 
it  was  not  easy  to  see  how  he  could  gain  any  pub- 
licity for  his  work.  At  this  juncture  a  personal 
friend,  A.  H.  L.  Heeren,  who  was  about  to  pub 
lish  a  book  on  the  ancient  world,'  offered  to  give 
space  in  the  appendix  to  Grotefend  for  the  pur- 
pose of  setting  forth  his  theories  and  discoveries. 
Grotefend  eagerly  seized  the  opportunity,  and 
there  appeared  his  work.  It  met,  on  the  whole, 
with  a  cold  reception.  Volney  denounced  it  as 
resting  on  forms  of  names  which  were  at  least 
doubtful  and  might  be  incorrect,  and  with  him 
joined  many  German  voices.  On  the  other  hand 
Anquetil-Duperron,  now  an  aged  man,  waiting 
"with  calmness  the  dissolution  of  his  mortal 
frame,"  and  the  immortal  De  Sacy  received  it  with 
enthusiasm  and  hailed  it  as  the  beginning  of  the 
sure  reading  of  these  inscriptions. 

Those   who   doubted   the   whole  scheme  were 
later  to  receive  a  severe  setback,  and  that  from 

'  IJeen  iiber  die  Politik,  den  Verkehr  und  den  Handel  der  vornehmsten 
Volker  der  alien  Welt,  von  A.  H.  L.  Heeren.  3  vols.  Gottingen,  1815. 
The  paper  by  Grotefend  is  printed  in  vol.  i,  pp.  563,  ff.,  under  the  title 
Ueber  die  Erklarung  der  Keilschriften,  und  besonders  der  Inschriften  von 
Persepolis. 

Heeren's  book  was  translated  into  English  with  the  title,  Historical 
Researches  into  the  Politics,  Intercourse,  and  Trade  of  the  Principal  Nations 
of  Anti(fdtii,  by  A.  H.  L.  Heeren.  Oxford,  1833.  In  this  edition  Grote- 
fend's  essay  appears  in  vol.  ii,  pp.  313,  ff.,  accompanied  by  plates  better 
executed  than  those  of  the  German  edition. 


56       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

an  unexpected  source.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  while  the  Persepolis  inscriptions  were  still 
in  the  copying  stage  a  beautiful  vase  had  come 
to  Paris  which  contained  some  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics, and  also  some  signs  like  those  found  at 
Pei-sepolis.  After  the  publication  of  Grotefend's 
work  in  Heeren's  book  the  Abbe  Saint-Martin,  in 
Paris,  devoted  much  thought  and  time  to  its  crit- 
icism and  study.  At  this  same  time  Champollion 
was  engaged  in  the  decipherment  of  the  Egyptian 
hieroglyphics.  He  suggested  to  the  abbe  that 
they  should  try  to  decipher  together  the  marks 
upon  the  vase.  When  this  was  attempted  the 
abbe  found  that  the  name  on  the  vase  in  cunei- 
form characters  should  be  transliterated  thus : 

CH.     SH.     A.     R.     SH.     A' 

and  this  was  remarkably  confirmed  by  the  finding 
of  the  same  name,  according  to  Champollion,  in 
the  Egyptian  signs.  This  was  a  small  matter  in 
some  ways,  but  it  increased  the  faith  of  many  in 
the  method  and  results  of  Grotefend. 

Meanwhile  Grotefend  himself  was  continuing 
his  effoi'ts  to  get  beyond  these  few  words  and  de- 
cipher a  whole  inscription.  At  this  stage,  how- 
ever, entirely  different  traits  of  mind  were  needed, 
and  a  completely  changed  mental  furnishing.  In 
the  preliminaiy  work  the  type  of  mind  which 
Gi'otefend  possessed  was  admirably    adapted  to 

'  Nouvelles  observations  sur  les  inscriptions  de  Persepolis,  par  M.  Saint- 
Martin.  {Memoires  de  VAcademie  Royale  des  hiscrip.  et  Btlles-Lettres. 
Tome  xii,  part  2,  1839,  pp.  113,  ff.)  This  paper  was  read  before  the 
Academy,  December  20,  1822. 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  57 

the  work  to  be  done.  The  mental  training  de- 
rived from  long  study  of  the  classics  of  Greek 
and  Latin  was  likewise  of  constant  service.  He 
had,  however,  now  reached  the  point  where  exten- 
sive and  definite  knowledge  of  the  oriental  lan- 
guages was  imperatively  necessary.  In  order  to 
secure  words  of  ancient  Persian  he  must  know 
words  in  the  related  oriental  languages  or  in  those 
other  languages  which,  though  not  related,  had 
been  used  in  or  about  the  same  territory,  and  so 
might  have  borrowed  words  from  old  Persian.  He 
must  also  know  the  oriental  spirit,  have  a  feeling 
for  oriental  life,  be  able  to  understand  in  advance 
just  about  what  an  oriental  was  likely  to  say. 
None  of  these  possessions  were  his.  His  later 
work  was  therefore  largely  abortive.  He  tried  to 
translate  entire  inscriptions,  and  failed  almost  com- 
pletely, though  he  devoted  much  time  for  all  the 
rest  of  his  life  to  this  matter,  without,  however, 
abandoning  his  real  field  of  classical  literature. 

However  unsuccessful  the  later  efforts  of  Grote- 
fend  may  have  been,  nothing  can  ever  dim  the 
luster  of  his  fame  as  a  decipherer.  It  was  he  who 
first  learned  how  to  read  an  ancient  Persian  word. 
From  this,  in  due  course,  came  the  power  to  read 
the  words  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian.  In  other 
words,  through  the  discoveries  of  Grotefend  the 
world  of  ancient  Persia  was  reopened,  and  men 
learned  to  read  its  ancient  inscriptions.  By  them 
also  the  much  greater  worlds  of  Assyria  and  Baby- 
lonia were  likewise  rediscovered.     Much  of  what 


58       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

we  know  of  ancient  Persia  came  from  tliem ;  almost 
all  that  we  know  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  was 
derived  from  tkem.  To  very  few  men,  in  all 
time,  has  it  happened  to  make  discoveries  of  such 
moment. 

While  he  still  lived  and  worked  others  with 
better  equipment  in  a  knowledge  of  the  oriental 
languages  took  up  his  work.  The  first  of  these 
was  a  Norwegian  by  birth,  R.  Rask.  It  was  his 
good  fortune  to  discover  the  plural  ending  in 
ancient  Persian,  which  had  baffled  Grotefend.  In 
the  work  of  decipherment  Grotefend  never  got  so 
far  as  to  determine  all  the  characters  in  the  phrase, 
king  of  kings,  and  this  was  now  achieved  by  Rask,' 
who  correctly  apportioned  the  characters.  The 
same  ending  appears  also  in  another  word  after 
the  word  "king."  Rask  also  for  this  suggested 
a  very  plausible  rendering.  In  the  Sassanian  in- 
scriptions the  phrase  is  "king  of  lands;"  why 
might  not  this  be  the  same  ?  That  question  would 
find  its  answer  at  a  later  day. 

And  now  appeared  a  man  to  grapple  with  the 
problem  of  the  inscriptions  of  Persepolis,  who  was 
in  learning  far  better  equipped  than  any  who  had 
preceded  him.  This  was  the  French  savant, 
Eugene  Burnouf."     He  had  already  gained  fame 

'  R.  Rask,  Ueher  das  Alter  und  die  Echtheit  der  Zend  Sprache  und  des 
Zend-Avesta  iind  Herstelhmg  des  Zend- Alphabets  nebsf  einer  Uebersicht  der 
gesammten  Sprachstammes;  uebersetzt  von  Fried.  Heinrich  von  der  Hagen. 
Berlin,  1826,  p.  28. 

*  Memoire  sur  deux  inscriptions  cunelformes  trouvees  pres  d^Hamadan, 
par  M.  l^ugene  Burnouf,     Pari?,  1836. 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  59 

as  the  man  who  had  given  the  grammar  of  Avestan 
a  scientific  basis.  He  knew  that  language  in  all 
its  intricacies.  To  this  he  added  a  kno^vledge  of 
Persian  life  and  religion  in  the  period  following 
that  to  which  these  inscriptions  belonged.  All 
this  learning  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  these 
inscriptions,  and  Burnouf  used  it  all  as  a  master. 
He  found  in  one  of  the  little  inscriptions  which 
Niebuhr  had  copied  at  Naksh-i-Kustam  a  list  of 
names  of  countries.  To  this  he  gave  close  study, 
and  by  means  of  it  accomplished  almost  at  a 
stroke  several  distinct  achievements.  In  the  first 
place  he  found  the  equivalent  for  almost  every 
character  in  the  Persian  alphabet.  In  the  next  he 
determined  finally  that  old  Persian  was  not  the 
same  language  as  Avestan,  but  that  it  was  closely 
related  to  it,  and  that  therefore  there  was  good 
hope  that  Avestan  as  well  as  certain  Indo-European 
languages  would  contribute  important  light  to  the 
study  of  old  Persian. 

Before  his  own  discoveries  were  made  in  full, 
and  before  their  publication,  Burnouf  had  called 
the  attention  of  Lassen  to  this  list  of  names.  In- 
duced by  the  remarks  of  Burnouf,  Lassen  made 
this  same  list  of  names  the  subject  of  investigation, 
and  at  about  the  same  time  as  Burnouf  published 
the  results  of  his  study,  which  were  almost  iden- 
tical.'    He  had,  however,  made,  in  one  respect  at 

'  Some  believe  that  Lassen  borrowed  these  results  from  Burnouf  s  com- 
munications to  him,  and  therefore  count  him  dishonest  in  making  no  ac- 
knowledgment. 


60       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

least,  very  definite  progress  over  Burnouf.  He 
discovered  that,  if  the  system  of  Grotefend  were 
rigidly  followed,  and  to  every  letter  was  given  the 
exact  equivalent  which  Grotefend  had  assigned,  a 
good  many  words  could  not  be  read  at  all,  while 
others  would  be  left  wholly  or  almost  wholly 
without  vowels.  As  instances  of  such  words  he 
mentioned  gPED,  THTGUS,  KTPTUK,  FRA- 
ISJM.  This  situation  led  Lassen  to  a  very  im- 
portant discovery,  toward  which  his  knowledge  of 
the  Sanskrit  alphabet  did  much  to  bring  him.  He 
came,  in  one  word,  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
ancient  Persian  signs  were  not  entirely  alphabetic, 
but  were,  partially  at  least,  syllabic,  that  is,  that 
certain  signs  were  used  to  represent  not  merely  an 
alphabetic  character  like  *'b,"  but  also  a  syllable 
such  as  "ba,"  "bi,"  "bu."  He  believed  that  he 
had  successfully  demonstrated  that  the  sign  for 
"  a  "  (see  second  sign  in  "  f,"  below)  was  only  used 
at  the  beginning  of  a  word,  or  before  a  conso- 
nant, or  before  another  vowel,  and  that  in  every 
other  case  it  was  included  in  the  consonant  sign. 
For  example,  in  inscription  I  the  first  word  of  the 
second  line  ought  to  be  read  thus : 

Va     *      Za    *   Ra  *    Ka 

while  in  inscription  H  the  middle  word  in  line 
three  should  be  so  read : 

D         A         Ra       Ya        Va  H  U  S 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  61 

This  discovery  was  of  tremendous  importance, 
and  may  be  said  to  have  completely  revolutionized 
the  study  of  these  long  puzzling  texts.  To  it 
two  other  scholars  made  important  contributions, 
the  one  being  Beer,  and  the  other  Jacquet,  a 
Parisian  savant. 

This  long  line  of  successful  decipherment  had 
been  carried  on  with  only  a  small  portion  of  the 
inscriptions  of  ancient  Persia,  that  were  still  in 
existence.  Other  and  better  copies  of  the  inscrip- 
tions were  even  at  this  time  in  Europe,  but  had 
not  been  published.  In  1811  an  English  traveler, 
Claudius  James  Rich,  had  visited  Persepolis  and 
copied  all  the  texts  that  were  to  be  found,  in- 
cluding those  which  Niebuhr  and  his  predecessors 
had  copied.  These  were  discovered  in  the  papers 
of  Kich,  and  in  1839  were  published,  coming 
naturally  at  once  into  the  hands  of  Lassen,  who 
found  in  them  much  new  material  for  the  testing 
of  his  method  and  for  the  extension  of  the  process 
of  decipherment. 

Still  greater  and  more  valuable  material  was 
placed  in  Lassen's  hands  through  the  travels  of 
Westergaard,  a  Dane,  who,  in  this,  imitated  worth- 
ily his  fellow-countryman  Mebuhr.  Westergaard 
had  again  gone  over  the  old  ground  at  Persepolis 
and  had  there  recopied  and  carefully  collated  all 
the  well-known  inscriptions.'     Li  this  he  had  not 

'  Lassen,  Die  Alpersischeii  Keilinschrifteii  nach  Herrn  N.  L.  Wester- 
guard's  MittheUungen.  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  Kunde  dcs  Morgenlandes.  Band 
v'i.     Bonn,  1845.     See  especially  pngcs  1—3. 


62      HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

done  a  useless  task,  for  only  by  oft-repeated  copying 
and  comparing  could  the  finally  definite  and  per- 
fect text  be  attained,  without  which  the  decipher- 
ment would  always  be  subject  to  revision.  But 
Westergaard  went  further  than  this ;  he  visited 
at  Naksh-i-Rustam  the  tombs  of  the  Persian  kings, 
and  there  copied  all  the  tomb  inscriptions  which 
were  hitherto  unknown.  On  his  return  this  new 
material  was  also  made  accessible  to  Lassen,  who 
was  now  fairly  the  leader  in  this  work  of  decipher- 
ment. Lassen  found  that  the  new  copies  of  the 
old  texts  were  so  important  that  he  went  over 
some  of  the  ground  afresh  and  found  it  useful  to 
reedit  some  of  his  work  which  had  before  seemed 
final.  The  same  material  called  a  new  worker  into 
the  field  in  the  person  of  Holtzman,'  of  Karlsruhe, 
in  Grermany,  whose  work,  however,  made  no  veiy 
deep  impression  on  the  general  movement. 

In  the  work  of  decipherment  thus  far  the  chief 
positions  had  been  held  by  Grotefend  and  Bur- 
nouf,  but  for  the  maintaining  of  its  international 
character  the  time  was  calling  for  workers  from 
other  lands.  As  it  happened,  at  this  very  time 
an  Englishman  was  at  work  on  the  same  task, 
from  a  different  point  of  view,  and  with  different 
materials.  It  was  well  that  this  was  so,  for  the 
conclusions  thus  far  reached  would  probably  have 
failed  of  general  acceptance  but  for  the  support 
obtained   by  the   publication   of    similar    results 

'  Bcilrage  zur  Erkliirung  der  Persischen  Keilimchriften,  vou  Adolf  Holz- 
niann.     Erstes  Heft.     Carlsruhe,  1845. 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  63 

achieved  by  a  mau  of  different  nationality  and 
divei*se  training.  The  history  of  all  forms  of 
decipherment  of  unknown  languages  shows  that 
skepticism  concerning  them  is  far  more  prevalent 
than  either  its  opposite,  credulousness,  or  the  happy 
mean  of  a  not  too  ready  faith. 

The  man  who  was  thus  to  rebuke  the  gainsayer 
and  put  the  capstone  upon  the  work  of  the  de- 
cipherment of  the  Persian  inscriptions  was  Major, 
(afterward  Sir)  Henry  Rawlinson,  who  was  born  at 
Chadlington,  Oxford,  England,  on  April  11,  1810. 
While  still  a  boy  Rawlinson  went  out  to  India  in 
the  service  of  the  East  India  Company.  There  he 
learned  Persian  and  several  of  the  Indian  vernacu- 
lars. This  training  hardly  seemed  likely  to  pro- 
duce a  man  for  the  work  of  deciphering  an  un- 
known language.  It  was  just  such  training  as  had 
produced  men  like  the  earlier  travelers  who  had 
made  the  first  copies  of  the  inscriptions  at  Persep- 
olis.  It  was,  however,  not  the  kind  of  education 
which  Grotefend,  Burnouf,  and  Lassen  had  re- 
ceived. In  1833  the  young  Rawlinson  went  to 
Persia,  there  to  work  with  other  British  oiScers  in 
the  reorganization  of  the  Persian  army.  To  Persia 
his  services  were  of  extraordinary  value,  and  met 
with  hearty  recognition.  It  was  in  Persia,  while 
engaged  in  the  laborious  task  of  whipping  semi- 
barbarous  masses  of  men  into  the  severe  discipline 
of  the  soldier's  life,  that  the  attention  of  Rawlin- 
son was  attracted  by  some  inscriptions.  The  fii-st 
that  roused  an  interest  in  him  were  those  at  Hama- 


64       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

dan,  which  he  copied  with  great  care.  This  was 
in  the  year  1835,  at  a  time  when  a  number  of  Eu- 
ropean scholars  were  earnestly  trying  to  decipher 
the  inscriptions  from  Persepolis.  Of  all  this  eager 
work  Kawlinson  knew  comparatively  little.  It  is 
impossible  now  to  determine  exactly  when  he  first 
secured  knowledge  of  Grotefend's  work,  for  Nor- 
ris,  the  secretary  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  has 
left  us  no  record  of  when  he  first  sent  copies  of 
Grotefend's  essays  to  the  far-distant  decipherer. 
Whatever  was  sent  in  the  beginning,  it  is  quite 
clear  that  Rawlinson  worked  largely  independ- 
ently for  a  considerable  time.  He  had  certainly 
begun  his  work  and  adopted  his  method  before  he 
learned  of  what  was  going  on  in  Europe.' 

Rawlinson's  method  was  strikingly  like  that 
adopted  in  the  first  instance  by  Grotefend.  He 
had  copied  two  trilingual  inscriptions.  That  he 
had  before  him  three  languages,  and  not  merely 
three  styles  of  writing,  he  appears  to  have  under- 
stood at  once.  To  this  ready  appreciation  of  the 
presence  of  three  languages  Rawlinson's  experience 
of  the  polyglot  character  of  the  East  had  probably 
contributed.  In  1839  he  thus  wrote  concerning 
his  method  of  decipherment : 

"  When  I  proceeded  ...  to  compare  and  inter, 
line  the  t"wo  inscriptions  (or,  rather,  the  Persian 
columns  of  the  two  inscriptions,  for  as  the  com- 

'  On  Rawlinson's  life,  and  also  on  his  work  as  a  decipherer,  see  now  A 
Memoir  of  Major- General  Sir  Henri/  Creswicke  Rmelinson,  by  George 
Rawlinson.  London,  1898.  The  notice  of  Rawlinson's  work  here  given 
was  written  before  the  appearance  of  this  memoir. 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  65 

partments  exhibiting  the  iuscriptiou  in  the  Pei'sian 
language  occupied  the  principal  place  in  the  tab- 
lets, and  were  engraved  in  the  least  complicated  of 
the  three  classes  of  cuneiform  writing,  they  were 
naturally  first  submitted  to  examination)  I  found 
that  the  characters  coincided  throughout,  except 
in  certain  particular  groups,  and  it  was  only  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  the  groups  which  were 
thus  brought  out  and  individualized  must  represent 
proper  names.  I  further  remarked  that  there  were 
but  three  of  these  distinct  groups  in  the  two  in- 
scriptions; for  the  group  which  occupied  the  sec- 
ond place  in  one  inscription,  and  which,  from  its 
position,  suggested  the  idea  of  its  representing  the 
name  of  the  father  of  the  king  who  was  there  com- 
memorated, corresponded  with  the  group  which  oc- 
cupied the  first  place  in  the  other  inscription,  and 
thus  not  only  served  determinately  to  connect  the 
two  inscriptions  together,  but,  assuming  the  groups 
to  represent  proper  names,  appeared  also  to  indi- 
cate a  genealogical  succession.  The  natural  infer- 
ence was  that  in  these  three  groups  of  characters  I 
had  obtained  the  proper  names  belonging  to  three 
consecutive  generations  of  the  Persian  monarchy ; 
and  it  so  happened  that  the  first  three  names  of 
Hystaspes,  Darius,  and  Xerxes,  which  I  applied  at 
hazard  to  the  three  groups,  according  to  the  suc- 
cession, proved  to  answer  in  all  respects  satisfac- 
torily and  were,  in  fact,  the  true  identifications." ' 
In  the  autumn  of  1836,  while  at  Teheran,  Raw- 

'  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  x,  pp.  5,  6. 


66       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

linson  first  secured  an  acquaintance  witli  the  works 
of  St.  Martin  and  Klaproth,  but  found  in  them 
nothing  beyond  what  he  had  already  attained  by 
his  own  unaided  efforts,  and  in  certain  points  he 
felt  that  he  had  gone  farther  than  they,  and  with 
greater  probability. 

Rawlinson's  next  work  was  the  copying  of  the 
great  inscription  of  Darius  on  the  rocks  at  Behis- 
tun.  This  was  a  task  of  immense  difficulty,  car- 
ried on  at  the  actual  risk  of  his  life,  from  its  position 
high  up  on  the  rocks  and  beneath  a  blazing  sun.' 
In  1835,  when  he  first  discovered  it,  Rawlinson 
was  able  to  study  it  only  by  means  of  a  field  glass. 
At  this  time  he  could  not  copy  the  whole  text, 
but  gained  more  of  it  in  1837,  when  he  had  be- 
come more  skilled  in  the  strange  character.  In 
that  year  he  forwarded  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  So- 
ciety of  London  his  translation  of  the  first  two 
paragraphs  of  this  Persian  inscription,  containing 
the  name,  titles,  and  genealogy  of  Darius.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  Kawlinson  had  accom- 
j)lished  this  without  a  knowledge  of  the  related 
languages,  except  for  what  he  could  extract  from 
the  researches  of  Anquetil-Duperron.  In  the  au- 
tumn of  1838,  however,  he  came  into  possession  of 
the  works  of  Burnouf  on  the  Avestan  language, 
which  proved  of  immense  value  in  his  work.  He 
also  secured  at  the  same  time  the  copies  of  the 
Persepolis  inscriptions  made  by  Niebuhr,  Le  Brun, 
and  Porter,  and  the  names  of  countries  in  them 

>  See  Atheuceum,  November  S,  1884,  No.  2976,  p.  593. 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  67 

were  of  great  assistance  to  liim,  as  tliey  already 
had  been  to  Burnouf  and  Lassen.  AVith  the  ad- 
vantage of  almost  all  that  European  scholars  had 
done,  Rawlinson  was  now  able  to  make  rapid  i:)rog- 
ress,  and  in  the  winter  of  1838-1839  his  alphabet 
of  ancient  Persian  was  almost  complete.  He  was, 
however,  unwilling  to  publish  his  results  until  he 
had  ransacked  every  possible  source  of  information 
which  might  have  any  bearing  on  the  matter.  In 
1839  he  was  settled  in  Baghdad,  his  work  in  reality 
finished  and  written  out  for  publication,  but  still 
hesitating  and  waiting  for  more  light.  Here  he 
obtained  books  from  England  for  the  study  of 
Sanskrit,  and  a  letter  from  Professor  Lassen,  which 
greatly  pleased  him,  though  from  it  he  was  able 
to  obtain  only  one  character  which  he  had  not 
previously  known.  Here  also  he  received  the 
copies  which  Mr.  Rich  had  made  at  Pei^epolis, 
and  a  transcript  of  an  inscription  of  Xerxes  at 
Van  which  had  been  made  by  M.  Eugene  Bore. 
In  this  year  (1839)  he  wrote  his  preliminary  mem- 
oir, and  expected  to  j)ublish  it  in  the  spring  of 
1840. 

Just  at  this  juncture  he  was  suddenly  removed 
from  Baghdad  and  sent  to  Afghanistan  as  politi- 
cal agent  at  Kandahar.  In  this  land,  then  in  a 
state  of  war^  he  spent  troublous  years  until  1843. 
He  was  so  absorbed  in  war,  in  which  he  won  dis- 
tinction, and  in  administration  as  well,  that  his 
oriental  studies  had  to  be  given  up  entirely. 

In  December,  1843,  he  was  returned  to  Bagh- 


68       HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA  AND   ASSYRIA. 

clad,  the  troubles  in  Afglianistan  being  for  tlie 
time  ended,  and  at  once  resumed  his  investiga- 
tions. Here  he  obtained  the  fresh  copies  and  cor- 
rections of  the  Persepolitan  inscriptions  which  Wes- 
tergaard  had  made,  and  later  made  a  journey  to 
Behistun  to  perfect  his  copies  of  those  texts  which 
had.  formed  the  basis  of  his  first  study.  At  last, 
after  many  delays  and  discouragements,  he  pub- 
lished, in  1846,  in  the  Joiirncd  of  the  Moyal  Asiatic 
Society,  his  memoir,  or  series  of  memoirs,  on  the  an- 
cient Persian  inscriptions,  in  which  for  the  first  time 
he  gave  a  nearly  complete  translation  of  the  whole 
Persian  text  of  Behistun.  In  this  Rawlinson  attained 
an  imperishable  fame  in  oriental  research.  His  work 
had  been  carried  on  under  difficulties,  of  which  the 
European  scholars  had  never  even  dreamed,  but 
he  had  surpassed  them  all  in  the  making  of  an  in- 
telligible and  connected  translation  of  a  long  in- 
scription. Remarkable  as  this  was,  perhaps  the 
most  noteworthy  matter  in  connection  with  his 
work  'was  this,  that  much  of  it  had  been  done  with 
small  assistance  from  Europe.'     He  had,  indeed, 

'  George  Rawlinson  has  attached  himself  to  the  view  that  Sir  Henry  Raw- 
linson  had  almost  completed  the  work  of  decipherment  of  the  Old  Persian 
alphabet  before  he  learned  an3'thing  of  the  work  of  Grotefend.  He  says : 
"Up  to  this  time  [end  of  1836]  he  had  no  knowledge  at  all  of  the  antece- 
dent or  contemporary  labors  of  continental  scholars,  but  had  worked  out 
his  conclusions  entirely  from  his  own  observation  and  reasoning  "  {Memoir, 
p.  309).  This  view  rests  upon  the  decipherer's  own  recollections  of  his  work. 
It  is,  however,  almost  certain  that  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  forgot  just  when 
he  first  learned  of  Grotefend's  work,  and  thought  that  he  was  independent, 
when  in  reality  he  was  assisted  by  Grotefend,  Burnouf,  and  Lassen.  In 
1884  he  carried  on  a  spirited  controversy  with  Professor  F.  Max  Miiller 
concerning  the  right  of  priority  of  discovery.     In  one  of  his  letters  he 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  69 

received  from  Norris,  Grotefend's  results,  tliough 
not  at  the  very  beginning,  and  he  was  later  siip- 
j^lied  with  all  that  other  scholars  had  been  able  to 
accomplish.  Furthermore,  as  early  as  1837  he  was 
in  correspondence  with  Burnouf  and  Lassen,  from 
both  of  whom  he  gained  assistance.  When  all  allow- 
ance is  made  for  these  influences,  his  fame  is  not 
diminished  nor  the  extent  of  his  services  in  the  de- 
cipherment curtailed.  His  method  was  settled 
early  and  before  he  knew  of  Lassen's  woi'k.  That 
two  men  of  such  different  training  and  of  such 
opposing  types  of  mind  should  have  lighted  upon 
the  same  method,  and  by  it  have  attained  the 
same  results,  confirmed,  in  the  eyes  of  many,  the 
decipherment. 

The  whole  history  of  the  decipherment  of  these 
ancient  Persian  inscriptions  is  full  of  surprises, 
and  another  now  followed  immediately.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1847,  the  Dublin  University  Magazine  con- 
tained an  unsigned  article  with  the  taking  title, 
"  Some  Passages  of  the  Life  of  King  Darius,"  the 
opening  sentences  of  which  were  as  follows : 

speaks  thus  of  the  matter :  "  Now,  for  my  own  part,  I  take  leave  to  say 
that,  though  I  worked  independently,  and  with  some  success,  in  my  early 
attempts  to  decipher  the  Persian  cuneiform  inscriptions  (from  1835  to 
1839),  still  I  never  pretended  to  claim  priority  of  discovery  over  Grotefend, 
Burnouf,  and  Lassen.  ...  As  I  was  in  pretty  active  correspondence  with 
Burnouf  and  Lassen  from  1837  to  1839  on  the  values  of  the  cuneiform 
characters,  it  is  impossible  to  say  by  whom  each  individual  letter  became 
identified"  {Athencenm^  November  8,  1884,  p.  593).  This  letter  makes  it 
sufficiently  plain  that  Rawlinson  himself  when  he  carefully  considered  the 
matter  did  not  make  so  great  a  claim  for  himself  as  does  his  brother  in 
the  admirable  memoir.  His  fame  is  secure,  and  needs  not  to  be  estab- 
lished by  any  attempt  to  prove  that  he  was  wholly  independent  of  Euro- 
pean scholars  in  all  his  earlier  work. 


70      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

"In  adding  this  new  name  to  the  catalogue 
of  royal  authors,  we  assure  our  readers  that  we 
are  perfectly  serious.  The  volume  which  contains 
this  monarch's  own  account  of  his  accession,  and 
of  the  various  rebellions  that  followed  it,  is  now 
before  us ;  and  unpretending  as  it  is  in  its  appear- 
ance, we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  a  more  inter- 
esting— and  on  many  accounts  a  more  important — 
addition  to  our  library  of  ancient  history  has  never 
been  made." ' 

After  this  introduction  the  writer  proceeds  to 
narrate  how  Major  Rawlinson  had  copied  at  Be- 
histun  the  inscription  of  Darius  and  how  he  had 
successfully  deci^Dhered  it.  As  the  paper  j)roceeds, 
the  anonymous  writer  goes  beyond  the  work  of 
Rawlinson  to  tell  of  what  had  been  done  in  Euroj)e 
by  Grotefend  and  others,  displaying  in  every  sen- 
tence the  most  exhaustive  acquaintance  with  the 
whole  history  of  the  various  attempts  at  decipher- 
ment. Then  he  falls  into  courteous  and  gentle 
but  incisive  criticism  of  some  of  Major  Rawlinson's 
readings  or  translations,  and  herein  displays  a  mas- 
tery of  the  whole  subject  which  could  only  be  the 
result  of  years  of  study.  There  was  but  one  man 
in  Ireland  who  could  have  written  such  a  j)aper 
as  that,  and  he  was  a  quiet  country  rector  at  Killy- 
leagh.  County  Down,  the  Rev.  Edward  Hincks.* 

^Dublin  JJ)dversiiy  Magazine,  Dublin,  1847,  p.  14. 

*  Apart  from  the  internal  evidence  there  is  now  no  doubt  that  this  paper 
was  written  by  Hincks,  though  published  anonymously.  See  Adler,  Pro- 
ceediuffs  of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  October,  1888,  p.  civ;  and  com- 
pare Stanley  Lane  Toole,  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  xxvi,  p.  430 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  71 

He  was  born  at  Cork,  in  1792,  and  was  therefore 
the  senior  of  Rawlinson  by  about  eighteen  years. 
After  an  education  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
that  wonderful  nursery  of  distinguished  Irishmen, 
where  he  took  a  gold  medal  in  1811,  he  was  set- 
tled in  1825  at  Killyleagh,  to  spend  the  remain- 
der of  his  life.  His  first  contributions  to  human 
learning  appear  to  have  been  in  mathematics,  but 
he  early  began  to  devote  himself  to  oriental  lan- 
guages, publishing  in  1832  a  Hebrew  grammar. 
He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Egyptian  deciph- 
erment, and  his  contributions  to  that  great  work 
are  acknowledged  now  to  be  of  the  highest  rank. 
Unhappily  his  life  has  never  been  worthily  writ- 
ten, and  it  is  impossible  to  determine  just  when  he 
first  began  to  study  the  inscriptions  of  Persepolis. 
It  is,  however,  clear  that,  independently  of  Rawlin- 
son,  he  arrived  at  the  meaning  of  a  large  number 
of  signs,  and  had  among  his  papers,  before  Rawlin- 
son's  work  appeared,  translations  of  some  of  the 
Persepolitau  texts.  His  first  published  memoir 
was  read  before  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  on  June 
6,  1846,  having  been  written  in  the  month  of 
May  in  that  yeai-.  In  this  paper  Hincks  shows 
an  acquaintance  with  the  efforts  at  decipherment 
which  had  been  made  by  AVestergaard  and  Las- 
sen, but  he  seems  not  to  have  seen  the  works 
of  the  other  continental  decipherers.  He  had 
much  surpassed  these  two  without  the  advan- 
tage which  they  enjoyed  of  more  complete  litera- 
ture. 


72       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

In  the  work  of  Hincks  the  Persepolitan  iuscrip' 
tions  had  been  now  for  the  third  time  independ- 
ently deciphered  and  in  part  translated.  With 
this  Dr.  Hincks  did  not  cease  his  work,  but  went 
on  to  larger  conquests,  of  which  we  shall  hear 
later  in  this  story. 

The  work  of  decipherment  was  now  over  as  far 
as  the  ancient  Persian  inscriptions  were  concerned. 
There  was,  of  course,  much  more  to  be  learned 
concerning  the  language  and  concerning  the  his- 
torical material  which  the  inscriptions  had  pro- 
vided. On  these  and  other  points  investigation 
would  go  on  even  to  this  hour.  But  the  pure 
work  of  the  decipherer  was  ended,  the  texts  were 
]-ead.  A  language  long  dead  lived  again.  Men 
long  silent  had  spoken  again.  It  seemed  a  dream ; 
it  was  a  genuine  reality,  the  result  of  long  and 
painful  study  through  a  series  of  years  by  scores 
of  men,  each  contributing  his  share. 

Though  the  work  upon  Persian  was  in  this 
advanced  stage,  very  little  had  yet  been  done 
with  the  other  two  languages  upon  these  same 
inscriptions.  What  might  be  the  result  of  a 
similar  study  of  them  nobody  now  knew.  It  was 
believed  that  the  columns  written  in  two  other 
languages  contained  the  same  facts  as  those  which 
had  been  so  laboriously  extracted  from  old  Per- 
sian, and  there  was,  therefore,  little  incitement  to 
their  study.  Before  the  end  of  this  period,  how- 
ever, there  were  beginning  to  be  hints  that  these 
other  two  languages  were  important,  and  that  one 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  73 

of  them  was  the  representative  of  a  great  people 
who  possessed  an  extensive  literature.  The  proofs 
that  this  was  indeed  true  were  now  slowly  begin- 
ning to  accumulate,  and,  when  enough  of  them 
were  gathered  to  make  an  impression,  the  men 
who  were  gifted  with  the  decipherer's  skill  would 
turn  from  the  Persian  to  unravel  the  secrets  of 
the  unknown  and  unnamed  languages  which  the 
kings  of  Persia  had  commanded  to  be  set  up  by 
the  side  of  their  own  Persian  words.  Great  results 
had  already  flowed  from  the  Pei-sian  studies.  New 
light  had  been  cast  upon  many  an  enigmatical 
passage  in  Herodotus ;  a  whole  kingdom  had  been 
permitted  to  speak,  not  through  its  enemies,  as  be- 
fore, but  for  itself.  But  all  this  was  as  nothing 
compared  with  the  untold,  unimagined  results 
which  were  soon  to  follow  from  a  study  of  the 
third  language  which  existed  in  all  the  groups  at 
Persepolis.  To  this  study  men  were  now  to  be 
wrought  up  by  the  brilliant  work  of  explorers. 

"We  have  traced  one  story — the  story  of  de- 
cipherment. We  turn  now  to  a  second  story,  the 
story  of  exploration. 


74       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 
EXCURSUS. 

THE  ROMANTIC  HISTORY  OP  FLOWER'S  COPIES  OP  INSCRIPTIONS. 

The  first  characters  from  Persepolis  which  were 
published  in  England  appeared  in  the  Philosoph- 
ical Transactions  for  June,  1693,  and  their  history 
was  so  peculiar  and  of  such  considerable  impor- 
tance that  they  are  here  reproduced  and  the  story 
of  their  misuse  in  various  forms  is  set  forth. 

The  beginning  of  the  story  is  found  in  a  letter 
sent  by  Francis  Aston  to  the  publisher,  which, 
mth  all  its  solecisms,  runs  thus : 

"  Sir,  I  here  send  you  some  Fragments  of  Papers 
put  into  my  hands  by  a  very  good  Friend,  relat- 
lating  to  antique  and  obscure  Inscriptions,  w" 
were  retrieved  after  the  Death  of  Mr.  Flower, 
Agent  in  Persia  for  our  East  India  Company; 
who  while  he  was  a  Merchant  at  Aleppo 
had  taken  up  a  resolution  to  procure  some 
Draught  or  Representation  of  the  admired  Ruines 
at  Ohilmenar,  pursuant  to  the  third  Enquiry  for 
Persia,  mentioned  in  the  Philosophical  Tran- 
actions,  pag.  420,  viz.,  whether  there  being  al- 
ready good  Descriptions  in  words  of  the  Excellent 
Pictures  and  Basse  Relieves  that  are  about  Per- 
sepolis at  Chilmenar  yet  none  very  particular, 
some  may  not  be  found  sufficiently  skilled  in  those 
parts,  that  might  be  engaged  to  make  a  Draught 
of  the  Place,  &  the  Stories  their  [sicl  pictured 
<fe  carved.  This  Desii'e  of  the  Royal  Society,  as 
I  believe,  it    hinted  at    a  Summary  Delineation, 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  75 

w*"  might  be  perform'd  by  a  Man  qualify'd  in 
a  few  days,  taking  his  own  opportunity  for  the 
avoiding  much  Expence,  (w*"  you  know  they 
are  never  able  to  bear :)  So  I  cannot  but  think 
Mr.  Floioer  conceived  it  to  be  a  business  much 
easier  to  perform  then  \si(i\  he  found  it  upon 
the  place,  where  he  spent  a  good  deal  of  Time 
and  Money,  &  dying  suddainly  after,  left  his 
Draughts  <fe  Papers  dispersed  in  several  hands, 
one  part  whereof  you  have  here,  the  rest  its  hoped 
may  in  some  wise  be  recovered,  if  Sir  John  Char- 
din's  exact  <fe  accurate  Publication  of  the  entire 
Word  do  not  put  a  period  to  all  further  Curiosity, 
w''  I  heartily  wish." 

Accompanying  this  letter  was  a  lithographed 
j)late  of  inscriptions  from  Nocturestand,  that  is 
Naksh-i-Rustam,  and  from  Chahelminar,  that  is, 
Persepolis.  They  had  been  copied  by  Flower  in 
November,  1667.  The  first,  second,  and  fourth  of 
these  inscriptions  are  Sassanian  and  Greek,  while 
the  third  and  sixth  are  Arabic.  The  fifth  con- 
sists of  two  lines  of  cuneiform  characters  as  fol- 
lows: 

m.ET.rs .  <,lKr.f<-.  1.  <T>r ".-».  <?:<.££. 
'^.Tr.  SWXr  -'fe-  TVr<  .t=.  «n.  5?Tf .  SHfT. 

To  these  cuneiform  characters  Mr.  Flower  had 
added  this  explanatory  note : 

"  This  character,  whether  it  be  the  ancient 
writing  of  the  Gawres  and  Gahres,  or  a  kind  of 


76       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Tdesines  is  found  only  at  PersepoliSy  being  a  part 
of  what  is  there  engraven  in  white  Marble,  <fe 
is  by  no  man  in  Persia  legible  or  understood  at 
this  Day.  A  Learned  Jesuit  Father,  who  de- 
ceased three  years  since,  affirmed  this  character  to 
be  known  &  used  in  EgyptP 

The  editor  appended  to  this  a  note  which 
showed  that  he  was  a  man  of  some  penetration  : 
*'  it  seems  written  from  the  Left  Hand  to  the 
Kight,  and  to  consist  of  Pyramids,  diversely  pos- 
ited, but  not  joined  together.  As  to  the  Quantity 
of  the  Inscriptions,  Herbert  reckon'd  in  one  large 
Table  Twenty  Lines  of  a  prodigious  Breadth.  Of 
this  sort  here  are  distinct  Papers,  each  of  several 
Lines." 

Aston  appears  to  have  been  much  interested 
in  these  papers  of  his  deceased  friend,  for  he  re- 
curs to  the  mattei'  again  to  say  that  in  February, 
1672,  Flower  had  compared  these  cuneiform  signs 
with  twenty-two  characters,  "  Collected  out  of  the 
Ancient  Sculptures,  to  be  found  this  day  extant  in 
the  admired  Hills  of  Canary." 

It  is  unfortunate  that  Flower  died  without  pub- 
lishing his  own  copies  of  inscriptions.  If  he  had 
lived  to  give  them  forth,  a  curious  catalogue  of 
mistakes  might  have  been  avoided. 

Mr.  Aston  doubtless  supposed  that  the  char- 
acters formed  an  inscription  either  complete  or  at 
least  connected.  These  characters,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  were  selected  by  Flower  from  the  three  lan- 
guages at  Persepolis,  and  do  not  form  an  inscrip- 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  77 

tion  at  all.  As  published  by  Aston  they  are 
taken  at  random  from  Persian,  Susian,  and  As- 
syrian, as  the  following  list  will  show.  The  first 
line  begins  with  three  Persian  characters  (a,  ra,  sa), 
the  next  is  Assyrian  (u),  and  after  it  the  Persian 
word-divider.  After  these  come  one  Persian  (th) 
and  three  Assyrian  (bu,  sa,  si)  syllabic  signs; 
then  one  Susian  (sa),  one  Assyrian  (rad),  one 
Persian  (h),  and  finally  one  Assyrian  (i)  character. 
The  second  line  is  equally  mixed.  It  begins  with 
a  Persian  sign  (probably  humi)  followed  by  three 
Assyrian  (a,  u,  nu),  one  Susian  (ak)  and  then  an- 
other Assyrian  (kha)  sign.  These  are  followed  by 
one  Susian  (ti),  one  Persian  (kh),  one  Assyrian 
(ya),  and  finally  one  Susian  (ta).  The  signs  were 
exceedingly  well  copied,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  a 
man  who  could  copy  so  well  had  not  been  able  to 
issue  all  his  work.  It  might  have  hastened  the 
day  of  the  final  decipherment. 

Instead  of  really  contributing  to  a  forward 
movement  in  the  study  of  the  Persepolis  inscrip- 
tions, Flower's  copies  resulted  in  actual  hindrance 
to  the  new  study. 

The  histoiy  of  this  retrograde  movement  is  a 
curious  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  science  of 
language.  It  deserves  to  be  followed  step  by  step 
if  for  naught  else  than  for  its  lessons  in  the  weak- 
nesses of  human  nature. 

The  cuneiform  characters  of  Flower  now  began 
an  extraordinary  and  unexpected  career.  The 
first  man  who  appears  to  have  noticed  them  was 


78       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Thomas  Hyde.  Hyde  was  professor  of  Hebrew 
in  the  University  of  Oxford,  but,  like  other  He- 
brew professors  in  later  days,  devoted  much  energy 
to  other  oriental  study.  His  great  book  was  on 
the  religion  of  the  Persians,'  in  which  he  discussed 
many  things,  without  always  displaying  much 
willing  receptiveness  for  things  that  were  new. 
He  reproduced  in  a  plate  the  cuneiform  characters 
of  Flower,  along  with  some  Sassanian  and  Pal- 
myrene  inscriptions.  Over  the  Sassanian  and 
Palmyrene  texts  Hyde  waxes  eloquent  of  denun- 
ciation. He  bewails  the  sad  fact  that  these 
"  wretched  scribblings,  made  perhaps  by  ignorant 
soldiers,"  had  been  left  to  vex  a  later  day.  Then 
he  comes  to  a  discussion  of  the  cuneiform  char- 
acters, and  gives  them  that  very  name  {dactuU 
pyramidales  seu  cuneiformes.)  *  Next  he  quotes 
Aston's  statement  that  Herbert  had  mentioned 
twenty  lines  of  cuneiform  writing  at  Persepolis. 
Hyde  waves  this  statement  majestically  aside,  and 
gives  a  long  argument  to  show  that  these  signs 
were  not  letters,  nor  intended  for  letters,  but  are 
purely  ornamental.'  He  attached  great  impor- 
tance to  the  interpunction  in  Flower's  copy,  and 
adds  that  Herbert  and  Thevenot  had  given  three 

'  Thomas  Hyde,  Historia  Religionis  veterum  Persarmn,  eorumque  Ma- 
gornm.  Oxonii,  1700.  The  second  edition  appeared  at  Oxford,  in  1760, 
under  the  title  Veterum  Persarum  et  Parthorutn  et  Mediorum  Religionis 
Historia. 

'^  Ibid.,  first  edition,  p.  526  ;  second  edition,  p.  556. 

*  "  Me  autem  judice  non  sunt  Literae,  nee  pro  Literis  intendebantur ; 
sed  fuerunt  solius  Ornatus  causa.  .  .  ." — Ibid.,  first  edition,  p.  52*7 ;  sec- 
ond edition,  p.  557. 


GROTEFEND  AND   RAWLINSON.  79 

lines  of  the  same  kind  of  ornamentation,  but  as 
they  did  not  give  any  interpunction,  he  pronounces 
their  copies  worthless.  Just  here  he  made  a  series 
of  mistakes.  In  the  firet  place,  of  course,  the  in- 
terpunction was  the  invention  of  Flower,  and  was, 
as  we  now  see,  merely  his  way  of  indicating  that 
he  had  copied  only  separate  and  selected  signs. 
In  the  next  place,  Thevenot  gives  no  copies  of  in- 
scriptions at  all.  Hyde  had  evidently  seen  some 
copies  in  some  place  and  was  quoting  from  mem- 
ory. One  wonders  whether  he  had  not  seen  the 
copies  of  Mandeslo,  and  had  in  memory  confused 
him  with  Thevenot. 

The  next  man  who  was  moved  to  make  use  of 
the  characters  of  Flower  was  a  Dutchman,  Wit- 
sen,  who  was  gifted  with  a  keen  eagerness  for  the 
marvelous.  He  calmly  reproduces  Flower's  char- 
acters, which  he  had  most  probably  copied  from 
Hyde,  and  introduces  them  to  his  readers  in  a 
remarkable  narrative.  "In  the  lands  beyond 
Tarku,  Boeriah,  and  Osmin,"  he  says,  "is  a  coun- 
try where  a  German  medical  man,  who  had  trav- 
ersed it  when  flyiug  from  the  anger  of  Stenko 
Rasin,  has  told  me  he  had  seen  on  arches,  walls, 
and  mountains  sculptured  letters  of  the  same 
form  as  those  found  on  the  ruins  of  Persepolis, 
which  he  had  also  seen.  This  writing  belonged, 
it  is  said,  to  the  language  of  the  ancient  Persians, 
Gaures,  Gabres,  or  worshipers  of  fire.  Two  speci- 
mens of  them  are  given  here,  though  these  char- 
acters  are   now    unintelligible.     Throughout   the 


80       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

whole  country,  said  this  medical  man,  above  all 
at  a  little  distance  from  Derbent,  in  the  moun- 
tains beside  which  the  road  passes,  one  sees 
sculptured  on  the  rock  figures  of  men  dressed 
in  strange  fashion  like  that  of  the  ancient  Greeks, 
or  perhaps  Komans,  and  not  only  solitary  figures, 
but  entire  scenes  and  representations  of  men  en- 
gaged in  the  same  business,  besides  broken  col- 
umns, aqueducts,  and  arcades  for  walking  over 
pits  and  valleys.  Among  other  monuments  there 
is  there  a  chapel  built  of  stone,  and  reverenced  by 
some  Armenian  Christians  who  live  in  its  neigh- 
borhood, and  on  the  walls  of  which  were  en- 
graved many  of  the  characters  of  which  I  have 
spoken.  This  chapel  had  formerly  belonged  to 
the  pagan  Persians  who  adored  a  divinity  in 
fire."  • 

This  whole  account  bears  every  mark  of  having 
been  manufactured  to  fit  the  inscriptions.  No  such 
ruins  have  been  seen  by  any  person  in  the  country 
described,  and  no  inscriptions  have  been  found 
there.  The  cuneiform  characters  had  to  be  ac- 
counted for  in  some  way,  and  this  was  Witsen's 
method. 

But  more  and  worse  things  were  still  to  be  in- 
vented to  account  for  these  same  little  characters 
of  Flower. 

In  1723  Derbent  and  Tarku  were  visited  by 

'  Nicolaus  Witsen,  Noord  en  Oost  Tartarj/e,  II  Part,  p.  563.  Amsterdam, 
1705.  Quoted  by  Burnouf,  Memo'tre  sxir  deux  inscriptions.  Paris,  1836, 
pp.  177,  178. 


GROTEFEND  AND  RAWLINSON.  81 

Dimitri  Cantemir,  Prince  of  Moldavia,  who  had 
the  patronage  of  the  czar,  Peter  the  Great,  in  his 
search  for  antiquities  and  inscriptions.  He  died  at 
Derbent,  and  the  inscriptions  he  saw  are  all  cata- 
logued by  Frahm,  and  there  is  no  cuneiform  in- 
scription among  them.  The  prince's  papers  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Th.  S.  Bayer,  who  utilized  them 
in  a  book,  De  Muro  Caucaseo,  in  which  he  tried 
to  prove  that  this  wall  was  built  in  the  time  of  the 
Medo-Persian  empire.  Now,  Bayer  was  acquainted 
with  Witsen's  book,  and  made  references  to  it,  but 
he  evidently  did  not  believe  in  the  marvelous  story 
which  Witsen  told  concerning  the  cuneiform  in- 
scriptions, for  he  makes  no  reference  to  it  at  all, 
whereas  that  would  have  given  the  most  conclu- 
sive proof  of  the  main  thesis  of  his  book  which 
could  possibly  be  suggested.  Here  were  inscrip- 
tions of  the  Medo-Persian  people,  found  at  the  very 
wall  which  he  desired  to  prove  was  Medo-Persian 
in  origin.  But  the  end  was  not  yet  concerning  the 
papers  of  the  unfortunate  Prince  of  Moldavia.  Pro- 
fessor Guldenstadt  planned  a  trip  through  the  Cau- 
casus in  1766-69,  and  friends  put  in  his  hands  cer- 
tain papers  to  be  used  on  the  journey.  Among  them 
was  a  copy  of  Flower's  cuneiform  characters.  It 
seems  probable  that  he  was  informed  that  this  copy 
belonged  to  Cantemir's  papers,  for  when  Gulden- 
stadt's  papei's  came  into  the  hands  of  Klaproth  he 
attached  to  the  Flower  characters  this  note :  "  In- 
scriptions de  Tarkou,  d'apres  un  Dessin  du  prince 
Dimitri  Cantemir,  qui  se  trouvait  avec  les  Instruc- 


82       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

tions  de  Guldenstadt.  St.  P.  4  Aug.,  1807." '  Now 
here,  by  a  chapter  of  accidents,  mistakes,  and  de- 
ceits, were  Flower's  signs  localized  at  Tarku,  and 
of  course  considered  a  veritable  inscription. 

In  1826  F.  E.  Schulz  was  sent  by  the  French 
government  to  the  East  to  search  for  inscriptions, 
and  he  took  with  him  the  Flower  signs,  with  Klap- 
roth's  note  attached.  It  was  probably  his  intention 
to  go  to  Tarku  and  collate  the  copy  with  the  orig- 
inal inscription,  for  of  course  he  had  no  doubt  that 
it  really  existed.  Schulz,  however,  was  murdered 
at  Julameih  in  1829,  and  when  many  of  his  papers 
were  recovered,  here  was  found  among  them  the 
same  old  copy  of  Flower.  Schulz's  copies  were 
published,  and  the  "  inscription  of  Tarku  "  appears 
with  the  rest. 

The  next  man  to  allude  to  it  was  Saint  Martin, 
who  gravely  informs  his  readers  that  this  inscrip- 
tion was  carved  above  the  gate  of  Tarku,"  thus 
adding  a  little  definiteness  to  the  tradition. 

Naturally  enough  the  Flower  copy  made  its  way 
to  Grotefend,  who  was,  however,  not  deceived  by 
it.'  He  recognized  at  once  that  it  really  consisted 
of  a  number  of  characters  selected  from  all  three 
languages  which  were  found  at  Persepolis,  though 
he  did  not  know  that  Flower  was  the  copyist. 
This  was  in  1820,  and  one  might  have  expected 

'  Burnouf,  ibid.,  p.  1*78. 

2  NonveUes  Observations  sur  les  inscriptions  de  Persepolis,  par  M.  Saint 
Martin,  Mem.  de  I'Acad.  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  11"  Serie,  torn, 
xli,  p.  1 14. 

'^  Hall,  allgem.  Lit.-ZeUnnff,  April,  1820,  p.  845. 


GROTEFEND   AND   RAWLINSON.  83 

that  this  would  end  the  wanderings  and  the  ficti- 
tious history  of  Flower's  copies.  But  not  just  yet ; 
there  was  still  vigor  in  the  story  and  the  race  was 
not  yet  over. 

In  1836  Burnouf  got  a  copy  of  the  same  lines 
and  set  to  work  earnestly  to  decipher  them.  He 
found  that  they  contained  the  name  of  Arsakes,  re- 
peated three  times.' 

In  1838  Beer  discussed  the  lines,  and  attached 
himself  to  Grotefend's  view,  recognizing  the  fact 
that  they  did  not  form  an  inscription  at  all. 

Burnouf 's  translation  did  not  suit  the  next  in- 
vestigator very  well,  and  he  began  afresh  to  de- 
cipher and  translate.  This  was  A.  Holtzmann, 
who  argued  learnedly  that  the  lines  formed  a  gen- 
uine Persepolitan  text  of  great  interest.  The  in- 
scription was  indeed  a  memorial  of  Arses,  who  was 
murdered  in  B.  C.  336  by  Bagoas.  Holtzmann 
thus  translated  the  text : 

"  Arses  (son)  of  Artaxerxes,  King  of  Provinces, 
the  Achamenian,  made  (this)." 

Here  was  indeed  a  fitting  conclusion  of  the  whole 
matter.  Flower  had  copied  a  few  signs  out  of 
three  different  languages,  and  out  of  them  had  been 
woven  this  elaborate  history.  It  is  a  melancholy 
story  from  one  point  of  view.  But  it  is  instructive 
also  as  showing  that  progress  in  knowledge  is  not 
uniform,  but  has  its  undertow  as  well  as  its  ad- 
vancing wave.  Happily  there  is  a  dash  of  humor 
in  it  as  well. 

'  Burnouf,  Memolre  snr  deux  hiscriptions.     Paris,  1836,  pp.  176,  ff. 


84       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARLY  EXPLORERS  IN  BABYLONIA. 

When  the  city  of  Nineveh  fell,  and  when 
Babylon  was  finally  given  over  to  the  destroyer,  a 
deep  darkness  of  ignorance  settled  over  their 
ruins.  The  very  site  of  Nineveh  was  forgotten, 
and,  though  a  tradition  lived  on  which  located 
the  spot  where  Babylon  had  stood,  there  was  al- 
most as  little  known  of  that  great  capital  as  of 
its  northern  neighbor.  In  the  Middle  Age  the 
world  forgot  many  things,  and  then  with  wonder- 
ful vigor  began  to  learn  them  all  over  again.  In 
the  general  spell  of  forgetfulness  it  cast  away  all 
remembrance  of  these  two  great  cities.  Even  the 
monk  in  his  cell,  to  whose  industry  as  a  copyist  the 
world  owes  a  debt  that  can  never  be  paid,  recked 
little  of  barbarous  cities,  whose  sins  had  destroyed 
them.  He  knew  of  Jerusalem  and  of  Bethlehem, 
for  these  had  imperishable  fragrance  in  his  nos- 
trils. They  were  sacred  cities  in  a  sacred  land, 
and  he  sighed  as  he  thought  that  they  were  now 
in  the  hands  of  infidels.  But  Nineveh  and  Babylon, 
they  were  mentioned,  it  is  true,  in  the  prophets ; 
but  then  Nahum  had  cursed  the  one  and  Isaiah 
predicted  the  destruction  of  the  other,  and  they 
had  received  their  deserts.  Where  they  might  be 
he  knew  not,  nor  cared.     But  after  a  time  came 


EARLY  EXPLORERS  IN   BABYLONIA.  85 

the  period  when  Europe  began  to  relearn,  and 
that  with  wonderful  avidity.  The  Crusades 
roused  all  Europe  to  a  passionate  interest  in  the 
Orient.  Palestine,  Syria,  and  Egypt  were  trav- 
ersed by  one  after  another  of  travelers  who  vis- 
ited sacred  scenes  and  came  home  to  tell  won- 
derful stories  in  Europe.  Of  these  almost  all 
were  Christians,  who  knew  in  greater  or  less  de- 
gree the  New  Testament,  but  were  for  the  more 
part  hopelessly  ignorant  of  the  Old  Testament. 
They  would  fain  see  the  land  of  the  Lord,  but 
cared  little  for  associations  with  Old  Testament 
prophets,  heroes,  or  kings. 

But  at  last  there  appeared  a  man  who  had 
wider  interests  than  even  those  that  concerned 
the  land  of  Palestine.  He  was  a  Jewish  rabbi  of 
Tudela,  in  the  kingdom  of  Navarre.  The  Rabbi 
Benjamin,  son  of  Jonah,  set  out  from  home  about 
1160  A.  D.,  and  journeyed  overland  across  Spain 
and  France,  and  thence  into  Italy.  As  he  went 
he  made  the  most  careful  notes  of  all  that  he  saw, 
and  gave  much  attention  to  the  learned  and  pious 
men  of  his  own  faith  whom  he  met.  From  Italy 
he  passed  over  to  Greece,  and  then  on  to  Constan- 
tinople, with  which  he  was  profoundly  impressed. 
After  he  had  visited  the  sacred  spots  in  Palestine 
he  went  over  the  desert  by  way  of  Tadmor,  and 
crossed  the  Euphrates,  and  then  journeyed  on  east- 
ward to  the  Tigris,  where  he  visited  the  Jews  of 
Mosul.  Of  Mosul  and  its  surroundinscs  he  has 
this  to  relate : 


86       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

"  This  city,  situated  on  the  confines  of  Persia,  is 
of  great  extent  and  very  ancient ;  it  stands  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tigris,  and  is  joined  by  a  bridge  to 
Nineveh.  Although  the  latter  lies  in  ruins,  there 
are  numerous  inhabited  villages  and  small  tow^ns 
on  its  site.  Nineveh  is  on  the  Tigris  distant  one 
parasang  from  the  town  of  Arbil.'" 

From  Nineveh  Benjamin  of  Tudela  passed  on 
down  the  river  and  visited  Baghdad,  then  a  great 
center  of  culture  both  Mohammedan  and  Jewish, 
and  this  was  more  to  him  than  even  its  wealth, 
and  it  is  as  to  a  climax  that  his  last  sentence  con- 
cerning this  city  comes : 

"  The  city  of  Baghdad  is  three  miles  in  circum- 
ference, the  country  in  which  it  is  situated  is  rich 
in  palm  trees,  gardens,  and  orchards,  so  that  noth- 
ing equals  it  in  Mesopotamia.  Merchants  of  all 
countries  resort  thither  for  purposes  of  trade,  and 
it  contains  many  wise  philosophers,  well  skilled  in 
sciences,  and  magicians  proficient  in  all  sorts  of 
enchantment."  * 

From  Baghdad  Benjamin  went  on  to  Gihiagin 
or  Ras-al-Ain,  which  he  mistakenly  identified 
with  Resen  (Gen.  x,  12),  and  then  continues  his 
narrative  thus : 

"From  hence  it  is  one  day  to  Babylon.  This  is 
the  ancient  Babel,  and  now  lies  in  ruins ;  but  the 
streets  still  extend  thirty  miles.     The  ruins  of  the 

'  Jtinerariuni  Beniandn  Tudelensis.    Ex  Hehraico  Latinum  factum  Bened. 
Aria  Montana  inierprete.     Antverpiaj,  M.D.LXXV,  p.  58. 
2  Ibid.,  pp.  69,  70, 


EARLY  EXPLORERS  IN  BABYLONIA.  87 

palace  of  Nebuchadnezzar  are  still  to  be  seen,  but 
people  are  afraid  to  venture  among  them  on  ac- 
count of  the  serpents  and  scorpions  with  which 
they  are  infested.  Twenty  thousand  Jews  live 
about  twenty  miles  from  this  place,  and  perform 
their  worship  in  the  synagogue  of  Daniel,  who 
rests  in  peace.  This  synagogue  is  of  remote  an- 
tiquity, having  been  built  by  Daniel  himself;  it 
is  constructed  of  solid  stones  and  bricks.  Here 
the  traveler  may  also  behold  the  palace  of  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, with  the  burning  fiery  furnace  into 
which  were  thrown  Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Aza- 
riah ;  it  is  a  valley  well  known  to  everyone. 
Hillah,  which  is  at  a  distance  of  five  miles,  contains 
about  ten  thousand  Jews  and  four  synagogues. 
.  .  .  Four  miles  from  hence  is  the  tower  built  by 
the  dispersed  Generation.  It  is  constructed  of 
bricks  called  al-ajurr ;  the  base  measures  two 
miles,  the  breadth  two  hundred  and  forty  yards, 
and  the  height  about  one  hundred  canna.  A 
spiral  passage,  built  into  the  tower  (in  stages  of 
ten  yards  each),  leads  up  to  the  summit,  from 
which  we  have  a  prospect  of  twenty  miles,  the 
country  being  one  wide  plain  and  quite  level. 
The  heavenly  fire,  which  struck  the  tower,  split 
it  to  its  very  foundation." ' 

That   Benjamin   of   Tudela   actually    did  visit 

'  Jbid.,  pp.  70,  71.  Compare  also  Martinet,  Reisetagbuch  des  Rabbi  Bin- 
jaminvon  Tudela.  Bamberg,  1858,  pp.  16,  18.  For  English  translations 
see  Thomas  Wright,  Early  Travels  in  Palestine,  London  (Bohn),  1848, 
pp.  94,  100,  and  especially  A.  Asher,  77ie  Itinerary  of  Rabbi  Benjamin  of 
Tudela.     London  and  Berlin,  1840,  i,  pp.  91,  92,  105-107. 


88       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Mosul,  and  that  he  there  saw  across  the  river  the 
great  mounds  which  marked  the  rains  of  Nineveh 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  but  it  is  not  so  clear 
that  he  also  saw  the  ruins  of  Babylon.  He  did 
make  the  visit  to  Baghdad,  for  that  city  is  de- 
scribed in  the  terms  of  an  eyewitness.  It  is, 
however,  not  certain  that  he  had  really  seen  the 
ruins  of  Babylon,  for  his  description  lacks  the  little 
touches  which  accompanied  the  former  narrative. 
He  is  here  probably  reproducing  simply  what  he 
had  heard  from  others  concerning  these  ruins. 

Benjamin  of  Tudela  wrote  his  narrative  in  He- 
brew. It  was  known  to  the  learned  during  the 
thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries,  but 
was  not  printed  until  1543,  when  it  appeared  at 
Constantinople  in  the  rabbinic  character.  In  1633 
it  appeared,  with  a  Latin  translation,  at  Leyden. 
It  later  appeared  in  English  and  French,  and  thus 
became  known  over  a  large  part  of  Europe. 
Though  thus  well  known,  the  book  of  Benjamin 
appears  to  have  attracted  no  attention  to  the 
buried  cities  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon. 

Like  the  first  scant  notices  of  Persepolis  given 
by  the  earlier  travelers,  these  notes  of  Benjamin  of 
Tudela  would  bear  fruit  in  a  later  day,  for  they 
would  incite  other  travelers  to  visit  the  same  mys- 
terious ruins. 

The  next  word  of  information  concerning  the 
ancient  sites  was  brought  to  Europe  by  another 
Jew,  the  Rabbi  Pethachiah  of  Ratisbon,  whose 
recollections  were  set  down  by  one  of  his  disciples, 


EARLY  EXPLORERS  IN  BABYLONIA.  89 

after  the  scanty  notes  which  he  had  made  by  the 
way. 

The  time  was  now  hastening  on  toward  the 
period  when  men  of  Europe  began  to  travel  ex- 
tensively in  the  Orient,  and  of  these  many  visited 
both  Mosul  and  Baghdad.  Most  of  them,  how- 
ever, did  not  pay  any  attention  to  the  ruins  which 
lay  near  these  cities.  Many,  like  Sir  John  Man- 
deville  (1322-56),  made  no  journey  to  these  sites, 
but  were  contented  to  report  what  they  had  heard 
concerning  them.  Marco  Polo  appears  to  have 
cared  nothing  for  the  ruins,  and,  though  he  vis- 
ited both  Mosul  and  Baghdad,  never  refers  to 
them.  Others  confounded  Baghdad  with  Babylon, 
and  really  believed  that  the  Mohammedan  capital 
was  the  same  city  as  that  which  Nebuchadrezzar 
had  made  powerful. 

In  1583  the  Orient  was  visited  by  John  Eldred, 
an  English  traveler  and  merchant,  whose  quaint 
notice  of  Babylon  and  of  Nineveh  was  among  the 
very  first  hints  which  came  directly  to  England 
concerning  these  great  cities.  His  account  is  as 
follows : 

"We  landed  at  Felugia  the  8th  and  20th  of 
June,  where  we  made  our  abode  seven  dayes,  for 
lack  of  camels  to  carie  our  goods  to  Babylon.  The 
heat  at  that  time  of  the  yeare  is  such  in  those 
parts  that  men  are  loath  to  let  out  their  camels 
to  travell.  This  Felugia  is  a  village  of  some  hun- 
dred houses,  and  a  place  appointed  for  discharge- 
ing  of  such  goods  as  come  downe  the  river :  the 


90       HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

inhabitants  are  Arabians.  Not  finding  camels 
here,  we  were  constrained  to  unlade  our  goods, 
and  hired  an  hundred  asses  to  carie  our  English 
merchandizes  onely  to  New  Babylon  over  a  short 
desert;  in  crossing  whereof  we  spent  eighteen 
houres,  travelling  by  night  and  part  of  the  morn- 
ing, to  avoid  the  great  heat. 

"  In  this  place  which  we  crossed  over  stood  the 
olde  mightie  citie  of  Babylon,  many  olde  mines 
whereof  are  easilie  to  be  scene  by  daylight,  which 
I  John  Eldred  have  often  behelde  at  my  goode 
leisure,  having  made  three  voyages  between  the 
New  citie  of  Babylon  and  Aleppo  over  this  desert. 
Here  also  are  yet  standing  the  mines  of  the  olde 
tower  of  Babell,  which  being  upon  a  plaine  ground 
seemeth  a  farre  off  very  great,  but  the  nearer  you 
come  to  it,  the  lesser  and  lesser  it  appearetli : 
sundry  times  I  have  gone  thither  to  see  it,  and 
found  the  remnants  yet  standing  about  a  quartei* 
of  a  mile  in  compasse,  and  almost  as  high  as  tlie 
stone  worke  of  Paules  steeple  in  London,  but  it 
sheweth  much  bigger.'     The  brickes  remaining  in 

'  "  For  about  seven  or  eight  miles  from  Bagdad,  as  men  passe  from 
Felugia,  a  towne  on  Euphrates,  whereon  Old  Babylon  stood,  to  this  newe 
citie  on  Tigris  (a  worke  of  eighteene  houres,  and  about  forty  miles  space) 
there  is  seen  a  ruinous  shape,  of  a  shapelesse  heape  and  building,  in  cir- 
cuit less  than  a  mile,  about  the  height  of  the  stoneworke  of  Panic's  steeple 
in  London,  the  bricks  being  six  inches  thicke,  eight  broad,  and  a  foot 
long  (as  Master  Allen  measured)  with  mats  of  canes  laid  betwixt  them,  yet 
remaining  as  sound  as  if  they  had  beene  laid  within  a  yeere's  space.  Thus 
Master  Eldred  and  Master  Fitch,  Master  Cartwrlght,  also,  and  my  friend 
Master  Allen,  by  testimony  of  their  own  eyes,  have  reported.  But  I  can 
scarce  think  it  to  be  that  tower  or  temple,  because  authors  place  it  in  the 
midst  of    old    Ba>>ylon,    and    neere    Euphrates;   whereas   this   i?    ncorer 


EARLY   EXPLORERS  IN   BABYLONIA.  91 

this  most  ancient  monument  be  half  a  yard  thicke 
and  three  quarters  of  a  yard  long,  being  dried  in 
the  Sunne  only,  and  betweene  every  course  of 
brickes  there  lieth  a  course  of  mattes  made  of 
canes,  which  remaine  sounde  and  not  perished, 
as  though  they  had  beene  layed  within  one  yeere. 
The  citie  of  New  Babylon  joyneth  upon  the 
aforesaid  desert  where  the  Olde  citie  was,  and  the 
river  of  Tygris  runneth  close  under  the  wall,  and 
they  may  if  they  will  open  a  sluce,  and  let  the 
water  of  the  same  mnne  round  about  the  towne. 
It  is  about  two  English  miles  in  compasse,  and 
the  inhabitants  generally  speake  three  languages, 
to  wit,  the  Persian,  Arabian,  and  Turkish  tongues  : 
the  people  are  of  the  Spanyards  complexion :  and 
the  women  generalie  weare  in  one  of  the  gristles 
of  their  noses  a  ring  like  a  wedding  ring,  but 
somewhat  greater,  with  a  pearle  and  a  Turkish 
stone  set  therein,  and  this  they  doe  be  they  never 
so  poore."  ' 

The  old  confusion  between  Baghdad  and  Baby- 
lon plainly  exists  in  the  mind  of  Eldred,  but  apart 
from  that  error  his  words  have  a  magical  ring  in 
them,  and  might  well  induce  others  to  set  out  to 
see  such  sights.     He  appears  not  to  have  seen  the 

Tigris." — Purchas  his  Pilgrimage,  1626,  p.  50  (folio  edition),  quoted  in 
Narrative  of  a  Journey  to  the  Site  of  Babylon,  etc.,  by  the  late  C'laudius 
James  Rich,  edited  by  his  widow.     London,  1839,  p.  321. 

'  The  Principall  Navigations,  Voiages  and  Discoveries  of  the  E/nglish 
Natimi.  By  Richard  Hakluyt,  Master  o^"  Artes,  and  Student  sometime  of 
Christ-Church  in  Oxford.  Imprinted  at  London  by  George  Bishop  and 
Ralph  Newberie,  Deputies  to  Christopher  Baker,  Printer  to  the  Queen's 
most  excellent  Majestic.     1589,  p.  232. 


92       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

ruins  of  Nineveh  at  all,  but  another  Eno^lishman, 
who  sailed  from  Venice  in  1599,  was  more  fortunate 
and  also  more  romantic. 

There  is  more  of  eloquence  in  Anthony  Shirley 
(or  Sherley),  who  thus  wrote  of  both  cities : 

"  I  will  speake""of  Babylon ;  not  to  the  intent 
to  tell  stories,  either  of  the  huge  mines  of  the  first 
Towne  or  the  splendour  of  the  second,  but  — 
because  nothing  doth  impose  anything  in  man's 
nature  more  than  example — to  shew  the  truth  of 
God's  word,  whose  vengeances,  threatened  by  His 
Prophets,  are  truely  succeeded  in  all  those 
parts.  ..." 

"  All  the  ground  on  which  Babylon  was  spred 
is  left  now  desolate;  nothing  standing  in  that 
Peninsula  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris, 
but  only  part,  and  that  a  small  part,  of  the  greate 
Tower,  which  God  hath  suffered  to  stand  (if  man 
may  speake  so  confidently  of  His  greate  imj^ene- 
trable  counsels)  for  an  eternal  testimony  of  His 
work  in  the  confusion  of  Man's  pride,  and  that 
Arke  of  Nebuchadnezzar  for  as  perpetual  a  mem- 
ory of  his  greate  idolatry  and  condigne  punish- 
ment." 

"  Nineve,  that  which  God  Himself  calleth  That 
greate  Citie,  hath  not  one  stone  standing  which 
may  give  memory  of  the  being  of  a  towne.  One 
English  mile  from  it  is  a  place   called  Mosul,  a 

'  Sir  Anthony  Sherley,  Hh  Relation  of  H'ls  Travels  hito  Persia.  London, 
1613,  p.  21. 
"-  Ibid. 


EAELY  EXPLORERS  IN  BABYLONIA.  93 

small  thing,  rather  to  be  a  witnesse  of  the  other's 
mightinesse  and  God's  judgment  than  of  any 
fashion  of  magnificence  in  it  selfe."  ' 

In  these  words  is  sounded  for  the  first  time  the 
note  which  would  bring  eager  explorers  to  these 
mounds.  The  former  travelers  had  looked  curi- 
ously upon  these  mounds  and  then  passed  on; 
this  man  saw  in  them  facts  which  illustrated  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  In  a  later  day  expeditions 
would  go  out  from  England  for  the  very  purpose 
of  seeking  in  them  books  which  might  confirm  or 
illustrate  the  history  and  the  prophecy  of  the  He- 
brew people.  The  real  force  behind  the  large 
contributions  of  money  for  these  explorations  was 
this  desire  to  know  anything  that  had  any  possi- 
ble bearing  on  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Anthony  Shirley  did  not  see  that  day,  but 
he  belonged  to  it  in  spirit. 

In  all  these  notices  of  passing  travelers  ignorance 
was  mingled  with  credulity,  and  definite  knowl- 
edge was  wanting.  The  most  that  had  been  ac- 
complished was  the  perpetuation  and  the  stimula- 
tion of  interest  in  these  cities.  The  very  small 
amount  of  progress  that  had  been  made  is  indi- 
cated by  the  publication  in  1596,  at  Antwerp,  of 
the  great  Geographical  Treasury  of  Ortelius,'  an 

'  Ibid. 

*  Ahrahami  Ortellii  Antverpiani  Thesauriis  Geographicus  Recognitiis  et 
Audus.  Antwerp,  Plantin,  1596.  The  copy  which  the  writer  used  in  the 
Bodleian  Library  had  belonged  to  Joseph  Scaliger,  and  contained  manu- 
script notes  of  his.  On  Nineveh  he  had  nothing  to  add,  and  on  Babylon 
merely  wrote  in  the  margins  some  Arabic  words  which  had  been  transliter- 
ated in  the  text  of  Ortelius. 


lU       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

alphabetic  list  of  places,  with  such  descriptive  geo- 
graphical facts  added  as  were  then  known.  Or- 
telius  states  that  certain  writers  identified  Nineveh 
with  Mosul,  but  as  he  had  no  definite  information, 
he  had  to  let  the  matter  rest  at  that.  Of  Babylon 
even  less  was  known.  All  the  authorities  quoted 
by  Ortelius,  except  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  identity- 
Babylon  with  Baghdad,  and  that  position  he  ac- 
cepts. It  is  clear  from  this  that  there  was  need 
for  more  travelers  who  should  see,  and  understand 
as  well  what  they  saw. 

A  beginning  is  made  by  an  English  traveler, 
John  Cartwright,  whose  tone  is  very  similar  to 
that  of  Sherley,  though  he  makes  more  of  a  con- 
tribution to  the  knowledge  of  the  subject : 

"  Having  passed  over  this  river  [the  Choaspes] 
we  set  forward  toward  Mosul,  a  very  antient 
towne  in  this  countrey,  sixe  dayes  journey  from 
Valdac,  and  so  pitched  on  the  bankes  of  the 
river  Tigris.  Here  in  these  plaines  of  Assiria, 
and  on  the  bankes  of  the  Tigris,  and  in  the  re- 
gion of  Eden,  was  Ninevie  built  by  Nimrod,  but 
finished  by  Ninus.  It  is  agreed  by  all  prophane 
writers,  and  confirmed  by  the  Scriptures  that  this 
citty  exceeded  all  other  citties  in  circuit,  and  an- 
swerable magnificence.  For  it  seemes  by  the  ruin- 
ous foundation  (which  I  thoroughly  viewed)  that 
it  was  built  with  four  sides,  but  not  equall  or 
square ;  for  the  two  longer  sides  had  each  of 
them  (as  we  gesse)  an  hundredth  and  fifty  fur- 
longs, the  two  shorter  sides,  ninty  furlongs,  which 


EARLY  EXPLORERS  IN  BABYLONIA.  95 

amounteth  to  foiire  hundred  and  eighty  furlongs 
of  ground,  which  makes  thi'ee  score  miles,  account- 
ing eight  furlongs  to  an  Italian  mile.  The  walls 
whereof  were  an  hundredth  foote  upright,  and  had 
such  a  breadth,  as  three  Chariots  might  passe  on 
the  rampire  in  front :  these  walls  were  garnished 
with  a  thousand  and  five  hundreth  towers,  which 
gave  exceeding  beauty  to  the  rest,  and  a  strength 
no  lesse  admirable  for  the  nature  of  those  times." ' 

After  these  descriptions  of  the  past  and  present 
of  Nineveh,  Cartwright  supplied  some  extracts 
from  its  history  and  then  concluded  thus : 

"Finally,  that  this  city  was  farre  greater  than 
Babilon,  being  the  Lady  of  the  East,  the  Queene  of 
Nations,  and  the  riches  of  the  world,  hauing  more 
people  within  her  wals,  than  are  now  in  some  one 
kingdome :  but  now  it  is  destroyed  (as  God  foi'e- 
told  it  should  be  by  the  Chaldseans)  being  nothing 
else,  then  (sic)  a  sepulture  of  her  self,  a  litle  towne 
of  small  trade,  where  the  Patriarch  of  the  Nesto- 
rians  keeps  his  seate,  at  the  deuotion  of  the  Turkes. 
Sundry  times  had  we  conference  with  this  Patri- 
arch :  and  among  many  other  speeches  which  past 
from  him,  he  wished  us  that  before  we  departed, 
to  see  the  Hand  of  Eden,  but  twelue  miles  up  the 
riuer,  which  he  affirmed  was  undovhtedly  a  part  of 
Paradise^ 

Keen  as  Cartwright  was  after  historical  and  leg- 
endary material,  he  continued  the  error  of  confusion 

'  The  Preacher's  Travels,  penned  by  I.  C.  (preface  signed  lohn  Cartwright). 
London,  1611,  pp.  89,  90. 


96       HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

of  Baghdad  and  Babylon.     His  descriptions,  how- 
ever, contained  some  new  matter : 

"  Two  places  of  great  antiquity  did  we  thoroughly 
view  in  the  country :  the  one  was  the  mines  of  the 
old  tower  of  Babely  (as  the  inhabitants  hold  unto 
this  day)  built  by  Nymrod,  the  nephew  of  Cham, 
Noahs  Sonne.  .  .  . 

"And  now  at  this  day  that  which  remayneth, 
is  called,  the  remnant  of  the  tower  of  Babel :  there 
standing  as  much,  as  is  a  quarter  of  mile  in  com- 
passe,  and  as  high  as  the  stone-worke  of  Paules 
steeple  in  London.  It  was  built  of  burnt  bricke 
cimented  and  Joyned  with  bituminous  mortar,  to 
the  end,  that  it  should  not  receiue  any  cleft  in  the 
same.  The  brickes  are  three  quarters  of  a  yard  in 
length,  and  a  quarter  in  thicknesse,  and  between 
euery  course  of  brickes,  there  lyeth  a  course  of 
mats  made  of  Canes  and  Palme-tree  leaves,  so 
fresh,  as  if  they  had  beene  layd  within  one  yeere. 

"The  other  place  remarkable  is,  the  mines  of 
old  Babilon,  because  it  was  the  first  citie,  which 
was  built  after  the  Floud.  .  .  .  This  city  was  built 
upon  the  riuer  Euphrates,  as  we  found  by  experi- 
ence, spending  two  dayes  journey  and  better,  on 
the  ruines  thereof. 

"  Amongst  the  other  stately  buildings  was  the 
temple  of  Bel,  erected  by  Semiramis  in  the  middle 
of  this  citie.  .  .  .  Some  do  thinke,  that  the  ruines 
of  Nimrods  tower,  is  but  the  foundation  of  this 
temple  of  Bel,  &  that  therefore  many  trauellers 
haue  bin  deceiued,  who  suppose  they  haue  scene 


EARLY  EXPLORERS  IN  BABYLONIA.  97 

a  part  of  tliat  tower  which  Nimrod  biiilded.  But 
who  can  tell  whether  it  be  the  one  or  the  other  ? 
It  may  be  that  confused  Chaos  which  we  saw  was 
the  mines  of  both,  the  Temple  of  Bel  being  founded 
on  that  of  Nimrod."  ' 

There  are  not  wanting  indications  in  this  narra- 
tive that  Cartwright  knew  the  description  of  Sher- 
ley,  whom  he  almost  seems  to  quote  in  the  com- 
parison with  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 

The  visiting  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh  was  now 
becoming  as  much  of  an  international  matter  as 
was  the  observing  of  the  ruins  of  Persepolis  at  a 
slightly  later  time.  Gasparo  Balbi/  a  Venetian, 
Alexander  Hamilton,  an  Englishman,  and  Don  Gar- 
cia de  Silva  y  Figueroa,  a  Spaniard,  followed  soon 
after  Cartwright,  but  made  no  advance  in  their  in- 
vestigations beyond  that  which  had  been  seen  by 
their  predecessors.  Following  these  came  the  great 
traveler,  Pietro  della  Valle,  who  has  received  so 
much  attention  already  in  a  former  narrative  con- 
cerning Persepolis.'  He  made  the  same  mistake  of 
confusing  Baghdad  with  ancient  Babylon,  but  he 
visited  Hillah,  which  probably  few  of  his  prede- 
cessors had  done.  He  also  visited  the  great  mound 
near  Hillah,  called  Babil  by  the  natives.  This,  Pie- 
tro della  Valle  believed,  was  the  ruin  of  the  Tower 
of  Babel.  This  mound  he  had  sketched  by  an  art- 
ist, and  from  it  he  collected  some  bricks,  which  he 

'  IbU.^  pp.  99,  100. 

^Viaggio  nelle  Indie  Orientali,  Venise,  1590.     See  also  Recueil  des  Voy- 
tiges  aux  Indes  Orientales,  par  les  fr^res  de  Bry.     Francfort,  1660L 
^Seep.  16. 


98       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

afterward  took  back  to  Kome.  One  of  these  was 
presented  to  Athanasius  Kircher,  the  Jesuit,  who 
wrote  a  learned  treatise  on  the  Tower  of  Babel. 
Kircher  believed  that  this  brick  had  formed  part 
of  the  original  Tower  of  Babel,  wrecked  by  the  hand 
of  God,  a  silent  monitor  from  the  great  age  of  the 
dispersion  of  tongues.  He  placed  it  in  his  museum, 
and  it  is  still  preserved.  This  is  probably  the  very 
first  Babylonian  antiquity  which  came  into  Europe, 
and  must  always  have  a  great  interest  on  that  ac- 
count. Though  it  was  not  what  Pietro  della  Valle 
and  Kircher  supposed,  it  was,  nevertheless,  a  brick 
from  the  glorious  period  of  Babylonian  history, 
and  to  the  world  of  letters  had  a  meaning  of  tre- 
mendous import.  It  was  the  harbinger  of  great 
stores  of  tablets  and  of  building  bricks  which  were 
soon  to  flow  from  that  land.  Far  beyond  the 
dreams  of  the  mediaeval  student  of  the  Tower  of 
Babel  were  this  first  brick  and  those  which  were 
to  follow,  to  cany  the  thoughts  of  men. 

After  these  men  of  the  world,  others  bent  on 
errands  of  religion  passed  up  and  down  the  valley 
— Augustinians,  Jesuits,  Carmelites,  and  Francis- 
cans— some  of  whom  visited  the  sites  covered  with 
ruins,  while  others  were  content  to  report  what 
they  had  heard.  They  were  generally  impressed 
with  the  thought  that  they  were  in  lands  where 
God  had  signally  manifested  his  displeasure  with 
the  sons  of  men,  but  none  of  them  appear  to  have 
felt  any  quickening  of  imagination  at  the  thought 
of  the   great  deeds  of  human  history  which  had 


EARLY  EXPLORERS  IN  BABYLONIA.  99 

there  been  enacted.  They  naturally  knew  no  more 
of  the  meaning  of  the  mounds  than  did  those  who 
had  preceded  them. 

So  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  had  come, 
and  no  man  knew  more  of  the  history  of  Babylon 
or  of  Nineveh  than  could  be  gathered  out  of  the 
pages  of  the  Greeks  or  the  Latins,  or  from  the 
stirring  words  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  day  of 
the  traveler  who  went  and  saw,  and  no  more,  was 
now  nearly  over,  and  the  day  of  the  scientific  ex- 
plorer was  rapidly  hastening  on.  Before  men 
should  be  led  to  dig  up  these  great  mounds  they 
must  be  roused  to  interest  in  them,  and  that  the 
traveler  had  done  in  some  measure.  The  age  of 
the  explorer  and  of  the  decipherer  had  come,  and 
the  intellectual  quickening  of  the  times  manifested 
itself  in  a  thorough  study  of  the  mounds  of  Nine- 
veh and  Babylon. 


100     HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EXPLORATIONS  IN  ASSTEIA  AND  BABYLONIA,  1734-1820. 

The  man  who  began  the  new  age  of  exploration 
was  not  himself  an  explorer,  nor  were  several  of 
his  immediate  successors.  He  was,  however,  a 
man  of  scientific  spirit,  and  in  that  differed  from 
the  men  who  had  gone  before  him.  He  was  not 
seekiDg  marvels,  nor  anxiously  inquiring  for  evi- 
dences of  strange  dealings  in  dark  days.  He  was 
a  student  of  geography  and  history,  and  went 
into  the  Orient  specially  charged  to  study  them. 
Jean  Otter,  member  of  the  French  Academy  of 
Inscriptions  and  Belles-Lettres,  and  afterward  pro- 
fessor of  Arabic  at  the  College  de  France,  spent 
ten  years  in  western  Asia,  being  sent  thither  for 
the  purpose  of  study  by  the  Comte  de  Maurepas. 
His  notice  of  the  city  of  Nineveh  is  very  different 
indeed  from  all  that  preceded  it.  Its  tone  of 
criticism,  of  sifting  out  the  false  from  the  true,  is 
the  tone  of  the  new  age  that  had  now  begun : 

"Abulfeda  [the  Arabian  Geographer]  says  that 
Nineveh  was  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Tigris, 
opposite  the  modern  Mosul ;  either  he  must  have 
been  mistaken,  or  the  inhabitants  of  the  district 
are  greatly  in  error,  for  the  latter  place  Nineveh 
on  the  western  bank  of  the  Tigris,  on  the  spot 
which  they  call  Eski-Mosul.     If  we  attempt  to 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  101 

conciliate  the  two  opinions  by  supposing  that 
Nineveh  was  built  on  both  sides  of  the  river, 
nothing  is  gained,  for  Eski-Mosul  is  seven  or  eight 
leagues  higher  up  the  stream.  One  point  seems  to 
favor  the  belief  of  Abulfeda,  and  that  is,  that 
opposite  Mosul  there  is  a  place  called  Tell-i-Tou- 
bah — that  is  to  say,  the  Hill  of  Repentance — 
where,  they  say,  the  Ninevites  put  on  sackcloth 
and  ashes  to  turn  away  the  wrath  of  God." ' 

Otter  also  visited  the  mounds  at  Hillah,  and, 
with  a  better  know^ledge  of  the  Arabian  geog- 
raphers than  any  of  his  predecessors,  located  the 
ancient  city  of  Babylon  near  Hillah.  The  true 
location  of  the  city  even  he  did  not  make  out,  but 
the  site  was  almost  determined.  A  scientifically 
trained  scholar,  as  Otter  was,  had  not  found  it, 
but  the  thoughts  of  men  were  at  least  pointed 
away  from  the  identification  with  Baghdad. 

After  Otter  the  land  of  Babylonia  was  visited  by 
a  Carmelite  missionary.  Father  Emmanuel  de  Saint 
Albert.  He  saw  the  ruins  at  Hillah  and  made  a 
very  important  report  upon  them  to  the  Duke  of 
Orleans.  His  account  was  not  published,  but  in 
manuscript  form  came  into  the  hands  of  D'Anville, 
who  presented  to  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions  at 
Paris  a  paper  on  the  site  of  Babylon.  This  paper 
was  based,  in  its  conclusive  portions,  upon  the  de- 
scription of  southern  Babylonia  given  by  Pietro 
della  Valle,  and  especially  that  now  offered  by  the 

'  Voyage  en  Turqiiie  et  en  Perse,  par  M.  Otter,  de  TAcademie  Royale  des 
Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  Paris.     1748,  pp.  133,  134. 


102       HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Carmelite  missionary.  The  words  of  the  latter 
differ  in  important  respects  from  the  descriptions 
of  any  travelers  who  had  preceded  him.  He 
says : 

"  Before  reaching  Hillah  a  hill  is  visible  which 
has  been  formed  by  the  ruins  of  some  great  build- 
ing. It  may  be  between  two  and  three  miles  in 
circumference.  I  brought  away  from  it  some 
S(juare  bricks,  on  which  were  writing  in  certain  un- 
known characters.  Opposite  this  hill,  and  distant 
two  leagues,  another  similar  hill  is  visible,  between 
two  reaches  of  the  river  at  an  equal  distance.  .  .  . 
We  went  to  the  opposite  hill,  which  I  have  already 
mentioned ;  this  one  is  in  Arabia,  about  an  hour's 
distance  from  the  Euphrates,  and  the  other  is  in 
Mesopotamia,  at  the  same  distance  from  the  Eu- 
phrates, and  both  exactly  opposite  to  each  other. 
I  found  it  very  like  the  other,  and  I  brought 
away  some  square  bricks,  which  had  the  same  im- 
pressions as  the  first-mentioned  ones.  I  remarked 
upon  this  hill  a  fragment  of  thick  wall,  still  stand- 
ing on  the  summit,  which,  from  a  distance,  looked 
like  a  large  tower.  A  similar  mass  was  lying 
overturned  beside  it ;  and  the  cement  was  so  solid 
that  it  was  quite  impossible  to  detach  one  brick 
whole.  Both  masses  seemed  as  if  they  had  been 
vitrified,  Avhich  made  me  conclude  that  these  ruins 
were  of  the  highest  antiquity.  Many  people  in- 
sist that  this  latter  hill  is  the  remains  of  the  real 
Babylon ;  but  I  know  not  what  they  will  make 
of  the  other,  M'liich   is  opposite  and  exactly  like 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  103 

this  one.  The  people  of  the  country  related  to 
me  a  thousand  foolish  stories  about  these  two 
mounds ;  and  the  Jews  call  the  latter  the  prison 
of  Nebuchadnezzar."* 

Unlike  the  travelers  who  had  preceded  him, 
this  missionary  cared  nothing  for  the  marvelous, 
and  would  have  none  of  the  stories  of  the  natives. 
He  had,  however,  so  completely  and  accurately 
described  these  ruins  that  the  work  of  D'Anville 
was  comparatively  easy.  He  decided  that  this 
was  really  Babylon,  and  that  Baghdad  was  not 
its  modern  representative.  The  final  word  of 
D'Anville  is  interesting,  and  opens  up  the  new  era 
of  study  of  this  part  of  the  Orient : 

"The  written  characters  which,  as  Father 
Emmanuel  says  in  his  report,  are  impressed  upon 
the  bricks  which  remain  of  buildings  so  ancient 
that  they  may  have  foimed  part  of  the  original 
Babylon  would  be  for  scholars  who  wish  to  pene- 
trate into  the  most  remote  antiquity  an  entirely 
new  matter  of  meditation  and  study." ' 

These  words  were  written  in  1755,  iu  the  very 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  show 
how  the  study  of  the  city  of  Babylon  lagged  be- 
hind the  investigation  of  the  cities  of  Persia.  At 
this  very  time,  as  we  have  already  seen,  Europe 
was  stirring  with  interest  in  the  great  Achsemen- 
ian  dynasty,  and  not  only  was   the  site  of  Per- 

*  Memoire  siir  la  Positioji  de  Babylone,  par  M.  d'Anville.  Memoires  des 
Inscriptions  et  des  Belles-Lettres,  t.  xxviii,  p.  256,  annee  1755  [published 
1761]. 

'  Comp.  trans.  In  Evetts,  jhid.y   p.  44. 


104     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

sepolis  well  known,  its  inscriptions  had  been  sev- 
eral times  coj)ied,  and  men  were  eagerly  trying  to 
decipher  them.  It  was  not  yet  time  to  turn  from 
the  study  of  Persepolis  to  the  study  of  Babylon, 
but  the  hour  was  rapidly  hastening  on.  Father 
Emmanuel  and  his  skillful  interpreter  before  the 
Academy  had  done  much  to  bring  the  hour 
nearer. 

In  December,  1765,  Carsten  Niebuhr,  whose 
name  has  already  filled  a  large  place  in  this  story 
in  connection  with  the  ruins  of  Persepolis,  visited 
Hillah.  He  was  absolutely  certain  in  his  own 
mind  that  these  ruins  belonged  to  the  city  of 
Babylon.'  He  was  deeply  impressed  by  their  vast 
size,  but  still  more  by  the  evidences  of  a  high 
state  of  civilization  which  they  indicated.  He 
found  lying  upon  the  ground  and  about  the  great 
mounds  numerous  bricks  covered  with  inscriptions. 
Niebuhr  could  not  read  a  line  upon  them,  and  no 
man  living  could  have  done  so ;  but  that  they  ex- 
isted, and  that  the  writing  was  the  writing  of  the 
ancient  Babylonians,  was  now  well  known  in 
Europe.  Europe  had,  however,  entirely  failed  to 
grasp  the  meaning  of  these  important  facts.  Eu- 
I'ope  believed  that  a  people  who  could  only  write 
upon  clay  must  have  been  a  people  in  a  low  state 
of  civilization  indeed,  and  must  have  possessed  but 
a  small  literature.     Niebuhr  quotes  from  Bryant 

'  "  Dass  Babylon  in  der  Gegend  von  Helle  [Hillah]  gelegen  habe,  daran 
ist  gar  kein  Zweifel." — Reisebcschrelbung  nach  Arabien  nnd  andern  utn- 
liegenden  Landern.     Kopenhagen,  17*78,  ii,  p.  28*7. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  105 

these  words,  and  they  were  fairly  representative 
of  the  general  opinion  entertained  in  Europe :  "  I 
cannot  help  forming  a  judgment  of  the  learning 
of  a  people  from  the  materials  with  which  it  is 
expedited  and  carried  on,  and  I  should  think  that 
literature  must  have  been  very  scanty,  or  none  at 
all,  where  the  means  above  mentioned  were  ap- 
plied." To  Niebuhr  sucli  reasoning  appeared  to 
be  folly.  To  his  mind  tlie  presence  of  these  in- 
scribed bricks  was  evidence  of  a  very  high  state 
of  civilization.*  He  lamented  that  he  could  not 
remain  longer  at  the  site,  the  more  thoroughly  to 
study  its  ruins,  and  calls  earnestly  for  others  to 
continue  the  work  which  he  had  to  leave  un- 
finished. 

Niebuhr  also  visited  the  mounds  near  the  Tigris 
and  opposite  the  city  of  Mosul.  Here  also  he  was 
as  clear  and  cogent  in  his  reasoning  as  he  had  been 
at  Hillah.  The  site  of  Nineveh  he  identified  with- 
out difficulty,'  but  it  appears  to  have  impressed 
him  much  less  than  the  more  ancient,  and  the 
greater,  mother  city  of  Babylon. 

The  hope  and  wish  of  Niebuhr  that  others 
would  soon  follow  him  to  carry  on  researches  at 
Babylon  were  soon  gratified.  In  1781,  on  July  6, 
M.  de  Beauchamp  sailed  away  from  Marseilles  to 
carry  on  astronomical  observations  at  Baghdad 
and  to  make  historical  and  geographical  studies 

'  "  Man  kann  daraus  vielraehr  deu  Schluss  machen,  dass  die  Babylonier 
es  in  der  Schreibkunst  und  den  Wissenschaften  schon  sehr  weit  gebracht 
haben  miissen. — Ibid.,  pp.  290,  291. 

» Ibid.,  p.  353. 
9 


106     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

in  the  neighborhood.  He  visited  Hillah,  and  con- 
tributed further  to  its  exact  localization.  His 
knowledge  of  the  languages  and  the  archaeology 
both  of  the  past  and  the  present  of  the  Orient  was 
not  equal  to  that  of  Niebuhr,  and  he  therefore 
made  curious  mistakes  concerning  the  names  which 
the  Arabs  had  given  to  certain  portions  of  the 
mounds,  but  withal  he  marks  a  fresh  step  of  prog- 
ress. The  mound  which  had  now  long  been  known 
to  travelers  as  the  mound  of  Babel  he  now  desig- 
nates under  the  name  of  Makloube.  For  the  first 
time  he  directs  attention  to  a  second  mound  close 
by  the  first,  which  he  considers  the  site  of  Baby- 
lon; it  is  the  mound  called  El-Kasr  by  the 
Arabs. 

Of  the  mound  at  Hillah  he  says:  "Here  are 
found  those  large  and  thick  bricks,  imprinted  with 
unknown  characters,  specimens  of  which  I  have 
presented  to  Abbe  Bartholomy.'  ...  I  was  in- 
formed by  the  master  mason  employed  to  dig  for 
bricks  that  the  places  from  which  he  procured 
them  were  large,  thick  walls,  and  sometimes 
chambers.  He  has  frequently  found  earthen  ves- 
sels, engraved  marbles,  and,  about  eight  years  ago, 
a  statue  as  large  as  life,  which  he  threw  amongst 
the  rubbish.  On  one  wall  of  a  chamber  he 
found  the  figures  of  a  cow  and  of  the  sun  and 
moon  formed  of  varnished  bricks.  Some  idols  of 
clay  are  found   representing    human  figures.      I 

'  Afterward  published  in  beautiful  copies  by  Millin,  Monuments  Antiqiies 
inedits.     Paris,  1802,  vol.  ii,  pp.  263,  ff. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  107 

found  one  brick  on  wliich  was  a  lion,  and  on 
others  a  half  moon  in  relief.  The  bricks  are  ce- 
mented with  bitumen,  except  in  one  place,  which 
is  well  preserved,  where  they  are  united  by  a  very 
thin  stratum  of  white  cement,  which  appears  to  be 
made  of  lime  and  sand." 

"Most  of  the  bricks  found  at  Makloube  have 
writing  on  them ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  it 
was  meant  to  be  read,  for  it  is  as  common  on 
bricks  buried  in  the  walls  as  on  those  on  the  out- 
side. .  .  . 

"  The  master  mason  led  me  along  a  valley  which 
he  dug  out  a  long  while  ago  to  get  at  the  bricks 
of  a  wall,  that,  from  the  marks  he  showed  me,  I 
guess  to  have  been  sixty  feet  thick.  It  ran  per- 
pendicularly to  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  was 
probably  the  wall  of  the  city.  I  found  in  it  a 
subterranean  canal,  which,  instead  of  being  arched 
over,  is  covered  with  pieces  of  sandstone  six  or 
seven  feet  long  by  three  feet  wide.  These  ruins 
extend  several  leagues  to  the  north  of  Hella,  and 
incontestably  mark  the  situation  of  ancient  Baby- 
lon. .  .  . 

"Besides  the  bricks  with  inscriptions,  which  I 
have  mentioned,  there  are  solid  cylinders,  three 
inches  in  diameter,  of  a  white  substance,  covered 
with  very  small  writing,  resembling  the  inscrip- 
tions of  Persepolis  mentioned  by  Chardin.  Four 
years  ago  I  saw  one ;  but  I  was  not  eager  to  pro- 
cure it,  as  I  was  assured  that  they  were  very  com- 
mon.   I  mentioned  them  to  the  master  mason,  who 


108     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

told  me  that  lie  sometimes  found  such,  but  left 
them  among  the  rubbish  as  useless.  Black  stones 
which  have  inscriptions  engraved  on  them  are  also 
met  with." ' 

In  these  descriptions  and  narratives  of  the  learned 
and  inquiring  abbe  are  found  the  first  notices  of  ex- 
cavations and  the  first  accounts  of  the  finding  of  in- 
scriptions beyond  the  mere  building  bricks  stamped 
with  names  and  titles  of  kings.  These  had  been 
seen  often  before  and  several  had  been  taken  to 
Europe.  The  period  of  description  of  mounds  has 
now  come  to  an  end  and  the  period  of  excavation 
has  fully  come.  These  little  inscriptions  which 
at  first  awakened  so  slight  an  interest  in  Abbe 
Beauchamp  would  soon  be  eagerly  sought  with 
pick  and  shovel.  Then  would  come  the  effort  to 
read  them,  and  later  the  full  knowledge  of  the 
past  history  of  the  great  valley.  One  observation 
of  the  abbe  is  of  great  importance  in  this  story. 
The  cylinders,  he  says,  were  "covered  with  veiy 
small  writing,  resembling  the  inscriptions  of  Persep- 
olis  mentioned  by  Chardin."  That  showed,  as  by 
prophetic  instinct,  the  veiy  line  which  would  be 
pursued  for  the  decipherment  of  the  literature  of 
Babylon. 

As  definite  knowledge  of  the  site  of  Nineveh,  as 

1  Abbe  Beauchamp  made  at  least  two  visits  to  Hillah.  The  description 
of  the  first  is  found  in  Journal  des  Savants,  Mai,  1785,  pp.  852,  ff.  The 
second  is  publislied  in  Journal  des  Savants,  December,  1790,  pp.  2403,  ff. 
The  extracts  given  above  are  from  the  latter,  pp.  2418,  ff.  This  second 
paper  is  translated  into  English  in  the  £uropea7i  Magazine,  May,  1792, 
pp.  338,  ff ;  for  extracts  see  pp.  340,  ff. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  109 

Abbe  Beauchamp  had  achieved  of  the  site  of  Baby- 
lon, was  now  soon  secured  by  a  French  physician, 
Guillaume  A.  Olivier,  who  was  sent  into  the  East 
for  the  purpose  chiefly  of  scientific  study.  He  had 
no  such  knowledge  of  the  ancient  world  as  the 
abbe,  and  therefore  failed  to  make  any  independ- 
ent contribution  to  the  progress  of  knowledge  re- 
specting Nineveh.  His  references  to  the  city  are 
scanty  enough,  and  he  does  not  appear  to  have  seen 
any  inscriptions.'  At  this  time  the  knowledge  of 
ancient  Babylon  very  far  exceeded  the  knowledge 
of  Nineveh.  It  is,  however,  proper  to  say  that 
both  sites  had  been  found,  and  excavations  on  a 
very  small  scale  had  been  begun  at  Babylon.  These 
excavations,  it  is  true,  were  primarily  made  to  ob- 
tain building  material  which  was  to  be  used  in  the 
construction  of  dwellings  for  the  people  about  the 
neighboring  country.  Incidentally,  however,  in- 
scriptions were  found,  and  these  were  recognized 
as  being  pieces  of  writing  from  the  ancient  people 
of  Babylon.  The  words  of  Beauchamp  produced  an 
uncommon  impression  in  Europe,  and  were  the  sub- 
ject of  much  discussion.  In  England  especially  were 
men  aroused  by  them  to  a  sense  of  eager  thirst  for 
a  sight  of  these  inscriptions — the  books  of  the  Baby- 
lonians— and  for  an  effort  to  read  them.  So  soon 
as  this  desire  should  crystallize  it  was  certain  to  re- 
sult in  an  attempt  to  secure  some  of  them  for  an 
English  museum.     The  first  move  in  this  direction 

'  Voyage  dans  C Empire  0.,'ioiuan,  i' Egypt e  et  la  Perse,  par  G.  A.  Olivier. 
Paris,  an.  12,  iv,  pp.  283,  284  [published  18<tl-7J. 


no     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

was  made  by  the  East  India  Company  of  London, 
which  forwarded,  on  October  18,  1797,  a  letter  to 
the  governor  of  Bombay  instructing  him  to  give  or- 
ders to  the  company's  resident  at  Bussorah  to  have 
search  made  for  some  of  these  inscribed  bricks.  He 
was  then  to  have  them  carefully  packed  and  sent 
as  soon  as  possible  to  London.  Early  in  1801  the 
first  case  arrived  at  the  East  India  House  in  Lon- 
don. These  inscriptions  were  the  first  that  had 
reached  London.  It  was  true,  indeed,  that  no  man 
could  read  them.  They  stood,  however,  as  silent 
monuments  of  the  past,  and  their  very  position  in 
London  called  upon  men  to  attempt  their  decipher- 
ment. Their  resemblance  to  the  inscriptions  of 
Persepolis  had  also  been  pointed  out,  and  of  that 
there  was  now  no  doubt.  At  this  time  the  work 
was  in  progress  which  resulted  in  the  reading  of 
ancient  Persian.  Here  were  now  inscriptions  in 
ancient  Babylonian,  and  they  must  also  be  read. 
There  were  at  last  enthusiasm  and  real  interest 
in  Babylon.  This  general  interest  was  focused  by 
a  remarkable  book  by  Joseph  Hager,'  which  was 
the  direct  result  of  h'ls  inspection  of  the  Babylo- 
nian inscriptions  that  were  now  in  the  East  India 
House.  Hager's  small  book  was  epoch-making 
both  in  its  suggestions  and  in  its  conclusions.  In 
a  few  pages  he  reviewed  the  history  of  the  obser- 

'  A  Dissertation  on  the  Newly  Discovered  Babylonian  Inscriptions,  hj 
Joseph  Hager,  D.D.  London,  1801.  At  the  end  this  beautifully  printed 
little  volume  contains  five  plates  reproducing  the  Babylonian  inscriptions 
which  had  been  found  on  the  East  India  House  antiquities.  The  reproduc- 
tions have  probably  never  been  surpassed  for  beauty  or  accuracy. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  Ill 

vations  made  at  Babylon,  and  then  connected  the 
inscribed  stones  there  found  ^vith  the  Pei-sepolitan 
inscriptions.  His  statements  on  these  points  well 
deserve  repetition : 

"  It  is  well  known  that  for  more  than  a  century 
past,  about  which  time  the  Persepolitan  inscrip- 
tions were  first  discovered  by  European  travellers, 
the  opinions  have  been  much  divided  respecting 
these  characters.  Some  have  believed  them  to  be 
talisrtians,  and  others  the  characters  of  the  Chie- 
hreSj  or  antient  inhabitants  of  Persia  /  others  held 
them  for  mere  hieroglyphics,  and  others  for  alpha- 
hetic  characters,  like  ours.  Kaempfer  supposed 
them  to  express  whole  ideas,  like  the  Chinese 
charactei*s,  but  that  they  had  been  appropriated 
solely  for  the  palace  of  Istalchar.  .  .  . 

"  By  the  Babylonian  bricks  here  exhibited,  the 
whole  difficulty  in  regard  to  their  origin  is  re- 
moved ;  as  it  is  evident  that  Babylon,  in  point  of 
cultivation,  was  much  earlier  than  Persepolis,  and 
that  the  Chaldeans  were  a  celebrated  people,  when 
the  name  of  the  Pemans  was  scarcely  knowTi."  ' 

It  must  be  remembered  that  this  little  book  of 
Hager  was  written  before  the  Persepolis  inscrip- 
tions had  been  deciphered  at  all,  and  this  makes 
all  the  more  remarkable  the  generalizations  of  this 
gifted  man,  who  seemed  to  foresee  the  very  conclu- 
sions to  which  men  would  come  when  both  the 
insciiptions  of  Persepolis  and  these  new  texts  were 
finally  deciphered.    Even  beyond  these  deductions 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  xvii,  xviii. 


112     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

was  Hager  led  to  go,  when  he  summed  up  his 
conclusions  at  the  end  of  his  volume,^  for  there  he 
claimed  that  even  the  Assyrians  must  have  used 
the  same  method  of  writing — and  this  before  he 
had  even  so  much  as  seen  an  Assyrian  inscription 
of  any  kind. 

Hager's  little  book  had  an  influence  out  of  all 
proportion  to  its  size.  The  great  tomes  of  many 
travelers  had  utterly  failed  to  excite  more  than  a 
passing  interest.  His  book  was  soon  translated 
into  German  and  made  a  distinct  impression  upon 
Grotefend,  then  deeply  absorbed  in  his  efforts  to 
decipher  the  records  of  the  Achsemenian  kings. 
In  its  English  form  it  became  known  in  France, 
there  to  inspire  the  archaeologist,  A.  L.  Millin,  to 
publish  in  facsimile'  a  small  inscribed  stone 
brought  several  years  before  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Baghdad  to  Paris  by  the  botanist  Michaux. 
The  article  of  Millin  called  this  little  inscription 
a  "  Persepolitan  monument,"  though  his  own  state- 
ments show  that  it  came  not  from  Persepolis,  but 
from  Babylonia.  His  copy  of  this  beautiful  little 
inscription  was  another  added  to  the  increasing 
list  of  objects  which  awakened  in  men  the  belief 
that  beneath  the  mounds  at  and  about  Hillah  must 

'  That  these  characters  were  the  Chaldaic  characters  with  which,  ac- 
cording to  AthenjEus,  the  epitaphium  of  Sardanapalus  at  Nineveh  was 
engraved ;  the  Assyriac  characters  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  Diodorus, 
PoLYiENCs,  and  other  ancient  authors. — Ibid.,  p.  61, 

'  Monuments  Antiques  inedits  on  nouvellement  expliques,  par  A.  L.  Millin. 
Paris,  1802,  tome  i,  pp.  58,  sqq.  Description  dhm  monument  persepolitain, 
qui  appartient  an  Museum  de  la  Bibliotheque  Natioiiale,  with  two  beautiful 
plates. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  113 

lie  buried  great  stores  of  monuments  of  the  past  of 
Babylonia. 

While  these  publications  were  appearing,  and 
while  men  were  still  curiously  examining  the 
East  India  House  inscriptions,  a  man  was  prepar- 
ing for  a  work  which  would  demonstrate  the  truth 
of  these  hopes  and  astonish  the  world  with  un- 
suspected discoveries. 

Claudius  James  Kich,  who  had  been  born  at 
Dijon,  France,  in  1787,  but  spent  his  childhood  at 
Bristol,  England,  and  there  secured  his  earliest 
education,  went  early  in  life  to  Bombay  in  the 
service  of  the  East  India  Company.  Gifted  ex- 
traordinarily with  a  love  for  languages  and  with 
a  readiness  in  their  acquiring,  he  there  made  him- 
self acquainted  w^ith  Latin  and  Greek,  and  espe- 
cially with  Hebrew,  Aramaean,  Persian,  Arabic, 
and  even  somewhat  with  Chinese.  Later,  by  for- 
tunate accidents,  he  had  found  opportunity  to  con- 
tinue his  oriental  studies  at  Constantinople  and 
at  Smyrna,  and  then  in  Egypt ;  while  a  sojourn  in 
Italy  put  the  language  of  that  people  at  his  service. 
Before  he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age  he  had 
been  appointed  the  resident  of  the  East  India 
Company  at  Baghdad.  Though  he  had  not  prob- 
ably been  consciously  preparing  for  this  particular 
post,  all  that  he  had  learned  and  much  that  he 
had  experienced  now  became  of  the  greatest 
service  to  him.  In  the  beginning  of  his  residence 
at  Baghdad  he  appears  to  have  been  most  inter- 
ested by  the  city  itself  and  its  immediately  sur- 


114     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

rounding  country,  and  began  the  collection  of 
materials  for  a  history  of  its  Pashalic.  In  1811, 
however,  he  was  in  some  way  led  to  visit  the  ruins 
of  ancient  Babylon,  and  at  once  there  was  awak- 
ened in  him  a  new  passion.  On  December  10, 
1811,  he  saw  for  the  first  time  the  great  mounds, 
to  which  he  was  now  to  devote  so  much  energy 
and  enthusiasm.  His  first  impressions  were  dis- 
tinctly disappointing.  When  he  could  secure 
the  first  opportunity  to  write  them  down  he 
said: 

"From  the  accounts  of  modern  travelers  I  had 
expected  to  have  found  on  the  site  of  Babylon 
more,  and  less,  than  I  actually  did.  Less,  because 
I  could  have  formed  no  conception  of  the  pro- 
digious extent  of  the  whole  ruins,  or  of  the  size, 
solidity,  and  perfect  state  of  some  of  the  particular 
parts  of  them;  and  more,  because  I  thought  that 
I  should  have  distinguished  some  traces,  however 
imperfect,  of  many  of  the  principal  structures  of 
Babylon.  I  imagined,  I  should  have  said :  '  Here 
were  the  walls,  and  such  must  have  been  the  ex- 
tent of  the  area.  There  stood  the  palace,  and  this 
most  assuredly  was  the  tower  of  Belus.'  I  was 
completely  deceived;  instead  of  a  few  insulated 
mounds,  I  found  the  whole  face  of  the  country 
covered  with  the  vestiges  of  building;  in  some 
places  consisting  of  brick  walls  surprisingly  fresh, 
in  others  merely  of  a  vast  succession  of  mounds  of 
rubbish  of  such  indeterminate  figures,  variety,  and 
extent  as  to  involve  the  pereon  who  should  have 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  115 

formed  any  theory  in  inextricable  confusion  and 
contradiction." ' 

This  first  visit  of  Rich  to  Babylon  was  brief,  for 
he  was  back  again  in  Baghdad  on  December  21. 
In  that  shoii;  time,  however,  he  had  planned  all 
the  mounds,  and  had  correctly  located  them  by 
astronomical  observations.  He  also  tested  the 
mounds  by  digging  into  them  in  several  places,  of 
which  the  following  words  may  serve  as  a  suffi- 
cient description : 

"  I  went  with  ten  men  with  pickaxes  and  shovels 
to  make  experiments  on  the  Mujelibe;  they  dug 
into  the  heaps  on  the  top,  and  found  layers  of 
burnt  bricks,  with  inscriptions  laid  in  mortar.  A 
kind  of  parapet  of  unbui'nt  bricks  appears  to  have 
surrounded  the  whole.  On  the  western  face  the 
mud  bricks  were  not  only  laid  on  reeds,  but  mixed 
up  with  them.  In  the  northern  face,  where  a  part 
is  also  still  standing,  the  bricks  are  not  mixed  up 
with  reeds,  but  only  laid  on  layers  of  them ;  here 
I  found  some  beams  of  the  date  tree,  specimens  of 
which  I  brought  away.  The  part  of  the  mud 
wall  standing  on  the  west  front  is  not  thick ;  that 
on  the  northern  side  is  more  so,  but  none  of  them 
are  of  any  considerable  thickness.  On  the  north 
front  the  height  of  the  whole  pile  to  the  top  of  the 
parapet  is  132  feet.   The  southeast  angle  is  higher."  * 

'  Fundgraben  des  Orients,  bearbeitet  dureh  eine  Gesellschaft  von  Liebka- 
bern.  Wien,  1813,  p.  129.  The  narrative  of  Rich  extends  pp.  129-162, 
and  also  pp.  19*7-200.  The  pages  129-162  are  reprinted  in  the  volume 
edited  by  his  widow,  Narrative  of  a  Journey  to  the  Site  of  Babylon  in 
1861,  now  frst  published,  etc.     London,  1839.         -Ibid.,  p.  20. 


116      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

From  these  walls  lie  took  specimens  of  the  in- 
scribed building  bricks,  and  likewise,  when  pos- 
sible, purchased  from  the  inhabitants  various 
smaller  inscriptions,  which  were  later  to  form  a 
part  of  the  treasures  of  the  British  Museum.  Rich's 
work  at  that  time  seemed  small  in  amount,  but  it 
was  the  first  serious  survey  of  all  the  mounds,  and 
has  formed  from  that  day  to  this  the  basis  for 
every  subsequent  examination  of  them.  So  care- 
fully had  his  work  been  done  that  he  required, 
upon  later  acquaintance,  to  change  his  conclusions 
but  slightly.  His  first  account  was,  strangely 
enough,  published  in  Vienna,  but  it  was  eagerly 
read  and  discussed  in  London.  Free  as  it  had 
been  from  theorizing,  it,  nevertheless,  called  forth  a 
review  and  criticism  from  Major  Rennell,  who 
argued  that  Rich  had  not  properly  considered  the 
allusions  of  classical  historians  and  geographers, 
and  had  therefore  improperly  identified  some 
ruins.  Rennell's  paper  determined  Rich  to  visit 
the  ruins  again,  to  verify  or  to  correct  his  first 
statements.  In  his  second  visit  he  did  find  some 
things  to  correct,  but  in  the  main  confirmed  and 
established  his  former  conclusions.  The  results  of 
this  visit  were  written  out  at  Baghdad  in  the 
month  of  July,  1817,  and,  like  the  first  publication 
of  Rich,  carried  forward  very  distinctly  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  ancient  city. 

Rich  had  already  achieved  enough  to  gain  fame, 
but  he  was  to  do  still  more  for  oriental  study,  not, 
indeed,  at  Babylon,  but  at  the  other  chief  center. 


EXPLORATIONS,    1734-1820.  117 

the  city  of  Nineveli.  In  April,  1820,  he  set  out 
from  Baghdad  to  escape  its  heat  by  a  journey  in 
Kurdistan,  and  this  was  productive  of  valuable 
results  in  the  geography  of  a  land  then  but  little 
visited  by  Europeans.  In  this  journey  Mr.  Rich 
reached  Mosul  on  October  31,  1820,  and  there 
spent  four  months.  The  experience  which  had 
been  gained  in  his  work  at  Babylon  was  now 
splendidly  used.  He  visited  and  sketched  with 
plans  every  one  of  the  great  mounds  which 
might  be  considered  as  forming  a  part  of  the 
ancient  city  of  Nineveh.  The  first  of  these 
mounds  to  be  explored  was  that  known  among 
the  natives  as  Neby  Yunus,  because  it  was 
supposed  to  contain  the  tomb  of  the  prophet 
Jonah.  Here  he  learned  that  even  a  cursory  ex- 
amination by  means  of  the  spade  would  uncover 
inscriptions,  and  some  that  had  been  found  by  the 
natives  were  shown  to  him.  They  were  written 
in  cuneiform  characters,  which  Rich  of  course 
could  not  read,  but  some  were  secured  for  the 
British  Museum,  where  their  influence  would  soon 
be  felt.  From  Neby  Yunus  Rich  transferred  his 
investigations  to  Kuyunjik,  where  he  surveyed 
the  mound,  drafted  a  plan  of  it,  and  conversed 
with  the  natives,  learning  from  them  little  more 
than  that  most  of  the  inscriptions  were  found  at 
Neby  Yunus. 

After  the  investigations  at  these  two  mounds 
Rich  went  down  the  river  and  studied  the 
mound  of  Nimroud,  where,  as    the  natives  said, 


118     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Nimrod  is  buried.  In  every  Arab  village  whicli 
he  visited  Kich  found  inscriptions  in  tlie  cunei- 
form character.  Some  which  were  small  enough 
to  be  easily  transported  he  purchased  for  his 
collection.  Many  were,  however,  monumental 
in  character,  being  cut  into  stones,  which  the 
Arabs  had  used  in  the  erection  of  their  miserable 
hovels.  Rich  appeal's  to  have  found  no  opposition 
among  the  natives  to  his  study  of  the  mounds,  but 
he  did  find  various  suspicions  of  himself  and  of 
his  motives  among  the  more  ignorant  of  them. 
In  one  of  his  tours  about  Mosul  the  remark  was 
overheard  that  he  was  probably  seeking  a  suitable 
place  to  plant  guns  and  take  the  city.  The  cupid- 
ity and  fear  which  rendered  miserable  the  lives 
of  later  explorers  did  not  trouble  him,  partly  be- 
cause he  knew  by  long  association  the  temper  of 
the  natives,  and  so  did  not  unnecessarily  wound 
their  sensibilities,  and  partly  because  he  did  not 
dig  up  the  ground,  as  was  necessary  in  the  work 
of  his  successors. 

The  inscriptions  which  Rich  had  secured  soon 
came  to  London,  and  there  formed  the  nucleus  of 
the  great  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  collections  of 
the  British  Museum.  They  showed  at  the  very 
first  glance  that  the  daring  guess  of  Hager  was 
correct.  They  were  indeed  written  in  the  same 
kind  of  characters  as  those  which  had  been  sent 
home  to  London  from  the  ruins  of  Babylon.  That 
fact  alone  was  of  so  great  moment  as  to  make  dis- 
tinguished all  the  work  of  Rich  at  Nineveh.     He 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  119 

had  laid  the  basis  for  all  future  work  in  that 
city,  as  he  had  previously  done  in  Babylon.  His 
plans  and  drawings  must  be  used  by  whoever 
should  next  take  up  the  work. 

To  all  this  work  at  Babylon  and  at  Nineveh 
Rich  was  to  add  useful  labor  at  Persepolis,  which 
he  visited  in  August,  1821.  His  approach  to  the 
city  was  graphically  described  in  these  words : 

"It  was  dark  when  we  left  the  bridge  of  the 
Araxes.  My  expectation  was  greatly  excited. 
Chardin,  when  I  was  a  mere  child,  had  inspired 
me  with  a  great  desire  to  see  these  ruins,  and  the 
desires  excited  in  us  in  childhood  are  too  vivid 
ever  to  be  effaced.  Their  gratification  has  a  relish 
which  motives  suggested  by  reason  and  judgment 
are  unable  afterward  to  equal.  My  late  antiqua- 
rian researches  had,  however,  also  added  their 
interest  to  my  other  inducements;  and  as  I  rode 
over  the  plain  by  the  beautiful  starlight,  reflec- 
tions innumerable  on  the  great  events  that  had 
happened  there  crowded  on  my  memory.  I  was 
in  the  moment  of  enjoying  what  I  had  long  waited 
for ;  and  what  a  delightful  moment  that  is  !  At 
last  the  pointed  summit  began  to  detach  itself 
from  the  line  of  the  mountains  to  which  we  were 
advancing.  Mr.  Tod  pointed  it  out :  'Under  that 
lie  the  ruins.'  At  that  moment  the  moon  rose 
with  uncommon  beauty  behind  it.  Ages  seemed 
at  once  to  present  themselves  to  my  fancy."  ' 

'  Narrative  of  a  Residence  in  Koordistan  and  on  the  Site  of  Ancient 
Nineveh,  with  Journal  of  a  voyage  down  the  Tigris  to  Baghdad,  and  an 


120     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Here  at  Persepolis  he  made  more  exact  copies 
of  the  inscriptions  to  which  already  so  much  dis- 
cussion had  been  given  in  Europe,  and  his  copies 
proved  to  be  of  great  value  to  those  who  were 
to  engage  in  the  criticism  and  the  perfecting 
of  the  work  of  Grotefend.  On  the  way  back 
to  Baghdad  from  this  visit  to  Persepolis  Rich 
died  of  cholera,  at  Shiraz,  while  bravely  serv- 
ing others  who  were  suffering  from  the  dis- 
ease. The  man  who  had  wrought  so  wonderfully 
for  the  study  of  the  ancient  world  now  died  a 
hero  in  the  humblest  service  for  the  poorest  of 
humanity. 

The  impulse  which  Claudius  James  Rich  gave 
to  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  study  has  never  yet 
lost  its  effect.  Others  had  done  much,  indeed, 
in  awakening  interest,  and  Rich's  own  testimony, 
quoted  above,  shows  that  Chardin  had  done  this 
for  him ;  still  others  had  made  observations  of 
lasting  value,  while  a  very  few  had  accurately  deter- 
mined ancient  sites,  and  so  had  made  possible  his 
work.  All  these  things,  and  more.  Rich  had  ac- 
complished. None  who  preceded  him  had  ex- 
celled him  in  inspirational  power,  for  even  his 
Journal,  intended  only  as  the  basis  of  future  care- 
ful writing,  possessed  it,  and  none  had  equaled 
him  in  the  collecting  of  definite  information  con- 
cerning the  ruins  both  of  Nineveh  and  of  Babylon. 

account  of  a  visit  to  Shiraz  and  Persepolis,  by  the  late  Claudius  James 
Rich,  Esq.  Edited  by  his  widow.  Two  volumes.  London,  1836,  vol.  ii, 
p.  218. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  121 

His  quickening  and  informing   influence  worked 
wonders  in  liis  immediate  successors. 

While  Rich  was  still  living  in  Baghdad,  sur- 
rounded by  a  great  retinue  of  servants  and  sol- 
diers, in  the  almost  regal  state  which  was  then 
deemed  necessary  in  order  to  overawe  the  impress- 
ible natives,  he  received  a  visit  from  a  fellow- 
countrymen,  Sir  Robert  Ker  Porter.  This  was 
October  14,  1818,  and  Rich  had,  as  we  have  seen, 
made  his  investigations  at  Babylon,  and  published 
them  in  Europe.  It  was  natural  that  he  should 
discuss  them  with  this  newcomer.  Porter  had 
already  visited  Persepolis,  and  by  the  copying  of 
insci'iptions  had  added  his  name  to  the  long 
and  worthy  line  of  those  who  had  made  the 
work  of  Grotefend  possible.  Of  all  those  who 
had  yet  been  in  Babylonia  none  were  endowed 
in  the  same  manner  as  this  new  visitor.  Others 
had  possessed  greater  experience  in  travel, 
though  even  in  this  his  experience  was  not 
small.  Others  had  had  better  scientific  equip- 
ment in  knowledge  of  surveying  and  in  acquaint- 
ance with  oriental  languages.  In  these  matters 
Porter  was  far  behind  Rich  and  the  former  wan- 
derers. But  Porter  was  an  artist,  an  artist  who 
had  made  his  name  famous  in  England  by  many  a 
canvas  depicting  the  glory  of  England  in  war,  and 
the  history  of  her  people  in  Church  and  State.  To 
this  he  added  the  unique  distinction  of  having 
been  court  painter  at  St.  Petersburg.  A  man  of 
talent,  if  not  even  a   man  of  genius,  a  man  of 

10 


122     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

great  social  following  in  Great  Britain  and  in 
Russia,  where  lie  had  entered  the  highest  circles 
and  even  married  a  Russian  princess  —  such 
was  Sir  Robert  Ker  Porter.  His  skill  as  a  painter 
qualified  him  admirably  to  sketch  the  ruins  of 
Babylon,  and  his  trained  eye  was  ready  to  ob- 
serve the  lay  of  land  and  the  external  con- 
ditions of  the  modern  surroundings  of  ancient 
sites.  He  had  had  experience  in  the  copying 
of  texts  at  Persepolis,  and  could  now  copy 
at  Babylon  with  additional  sureness.  He  had  a 
gift  for  striking  description  in  words,  and  his 
brush  added  vividness  to  his  pen.  Rich  gave  him 
willing  assistance,  and  Rich's  admii'ably  trained 
secretary,  Bellino,  accompanied  him  to  the  ruins  at 
Hillah.  Though  Porter  was  lacking  in  many 
things,  his  observations  were  useful  and  served 
well  in  directing  later  workers  bent  on  definite 
work.  Upon  his  return  the  account  of  his  travels 
was  published  in  sumptuous  style,'  beautifully 
illustrated  by  his  own  brush.  The  big  book  was 
received  with  acclaim  in  England,  and  apparently 
also  on  the  continent.  A  man  with  greater  scien- 
tific equipment  but  with  less  social  following 
might  have  written  a  work  more  valuable  scientif- 
ically, which  would,  nevertheless,  have  completely 
failed  in  influence  on  the  age.  Porter's  work, 
however,  offered   the  needed  supplement  to  the 

'  Travels  in  Georgia,  Persia,  Armenia,  Ancient  Babylonia,  etc.,  etc.,  during 
the  years  1817,  8,  9,  and  20,  by  Sir  Robert  Ker  Porter.  In  two  volumes. 
London,  1821,  1822. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  123 

work  of  Rich.  Kich  liad  written  very  little  in- 
deed, and  that  was  concerned  with  details,  and  at 
times  was  very  dry  indeed.  It  was,  besides  this, 
not  published  in  a  complete  form  until  after  the 
author's  death.  Porter  saw  his  own  book  published, 
and  heard  the  popular  plaudits.  Here  was  at  last  a 
description  of  Babylon  as  it  now  was,  duly  inter- 
mingled with  quotations  from  previous  observers, 
and  fortified  by  the  word  of  Mr.  Rich  and  Mr. 
Bellino.  Here  were  pictures  of  mounds  and  ruined 
walls  and  inscribed  bricks,  and  here  was  the  ex- 
pressed opinion  that  they  had  not  yet  been  fully 
explored.  What  better  thing  could  have  been 
done  for  the  recovery  of  Babylon  at  this  time 
than  the  publication  of  just  such  a  book  as  this 
of  Sir  Robert  Ker  Porter!  It  was  impossible 
that  its  publication  should  not  be  followed  by  a 
rekindling  of  zeal  in  the  pursuit  of  oriental  learn- 
ing; or  that  its  glowing  and  pictured  pages 
should  fail  to  excite  the  wonder  of  even  the  ordi- 
nary reader,  who  may  to-morrow  become  an  ex- 
plorer himself  or  a  patron  of  such  pursuits  in 
others.  Just  as  the  book  of  Chardin  had  roused 
the  boyish  enthusiasm  of  Rich  and  sent  him  in  his 
early  manhood  to  the  scenes  which  it  described, 
so  would  this  new  book  exert  a  similar  influence 
upon  others.  Though  its  scientific  contributions 
are  not  to  be  named  with  those  of  Rich,  its  pop- 
ular influence  was  great,  and  it  is  to  be  ranked 
with  the  greatest  of  all  the  influences  which  con- 
tributed to  the  recovery  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon. 


124    HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

With  tlie  work  of  Sir  Robert  Ker  Porter 
another  period  of  exploration  in  Babylonia  and 
in  Assyria  closes.  The  progress  had  been  indeed 
very  slow.  The  whole  story  is  a  narrative  of 
description,  rising  at  times  to  measurement  and 
survey,  and  very  rarely  to  the  summit  of  actually 
recovering  inscribed  monuments.  But  all  this  was 
absolutely  indispensable  work.  It  was  foundation 
work,  preparatory  and  perhaps  little  more.  But 
it  represented  a  clear  step  forward  beyond  that  of 
the  days  of  the  credulous  seeker  for  marvels.  It 
was,  further,  an  era  of  popularization,  and  before 
governments  or  peoples,  in  monarchies  or  democra- 
cies, would  join  heartily  in  costly  excavations,  the 
people  must  get  some  promise  of  interesting  re- 
sult, some  zeal  for  the  learning  of  the  past  history 
of  humanity,  and  some  taste  for  the  color  of  the 
Orient.  In  the  greatest  of  the  democracies,  also,  it 
was  well  that  the  people  should  come  to  believe 
that  a  study  of  the  mounds  of  Babylon  and  Nin- 
eveh might  give  results  of  value  to  the  study  of 
their  Bible,  for  the  English  people  were  then  will- 
ing to  give  much  if  there  were  promise  of  any  such 
result.  Of  that  issue  assurance  was  given  in  many 
a  word  from  Shirley  to  Rich,  and  that  the  people 
had  heard  it  was  soon  clearly  shown.  In  France 
there  was  probably  less  diffusion  of  popular  biblical 
knowledge ;  yet  from  France  was  to  come  the  first 
real  step  which  should  prove  that  England's  hesi- 
tation had  been  unwise.  In  France  that  which 
failed  in  the  popular  interest  and  enthusiasm  was 


EXPLORATIONS,   1734-1820.  125 

supplied  by  the  love  of  learning  in  the  few  and 
by  the  great  liberality  of  the  government,  in  a 
land  where  governments  have  always  done  mar- 
vels for  the  pm'suit  of  learning.  But  the  story  of 
this  great  work  belongs  to  the  new  era,  that  now 
follows  the  period  closed  by  two  Englishmen 
whose  names  belong  high  up  on  the  record — Clau- 
dius James  Rich  and  Sir  Robert  Ker  Porter. 


126      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

EXCAVATIONS    IN"   ASSYRIA    AND    BABYLOTilA, 

1843-1854. 

The  period  of  exploration  in  Babylonia  was 
succeeded  by  the  era  of  excavation,  but  the  suc- 
cession was  not  so  rapid  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected. The  whole  history  of  the  progress  was 
slow,  and  there  was  now  a  pause  before  the  really 
culminating  work  was  begun.  But  this  pause  was 
full  of  preparation. 

In  1823  Julius  Mohl  came  from  Tubingen,  where 
he  had  taken  in  the  previous  year  the  doctor's 
degree,  to  Paris,  to  become  the  pupil  of  the 
greatest  Arabist  of  the  day,  Silvestre  de  Sacy, 
whose  name  has  already  appeared  in  the  story  of 
decipherment.  In  1840  Mohl  became  one  of  the 
secretaries  of  the  Societe  Asiatique,  and  thus  be- 
came permanently  attached  to  the  French  capital. 
Though  his  masters  had  taught  him  the  Arabic 
classics  rather  than  the  learning  of  the  older 
Orient,  he  was,  nevertheless,  full  of  a  desire  to 
know  of  its  history,  language,  and  literature.  At 
about  the  time  of  the  pause  in  the  progress  of 
Babylonian  exploration  Mohl  visited  London,  and 
there  saw  the  inscribed  Babylonian  bricks  which 
the  East  India  Company  had  brought  together. 
He  was  filled  with  an  overmastering  belief  that 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  127 

these  little  bricks  were  the  promise  of  an  immense 
literature  which  lay  buried,  awaiting  the  exca- 
vator's spade.  He  returned  to  Paris  to  read  of 
mounds  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  and  to  reflect 
upon  the  untold  treasures  which  must  come  to 
light  if  j)rop6i'ly  sought.  There  was  no  oppor- 
tunity found  for  Mohl  himself  to  go  to  Assyria  or 
Babylonia  to  seek  these  long-lost  monuments,  but 
there  soon  came  a  time  when  he  could  arouse  an- 
other to  this  call. 

In  1842  the  French  government  created  at  Mosul 
a  vice  consulate.  French  commerce  with  the  dis- 
trict did  not  warrant  or  demand  this,  and  the  new 
departure  was  really  made  in  the  interest  of  archaeo- 
logical study — to  establish  at  this  happily  chosen 
place  a  French  archaeological  mission.  The  man 
selected  to  fill  the  new  post  was  admirably  suited 
to  it,  Paul  Emil  Botta  was  now  but  thirty-seven 
years  of  age,  with  the  full  ardor  of  youth  and  the 
steadying  influence  of  experience  of  the  world.  He 
had  had  service  as  the  French  consul  at  Alexandria, 
and  must  there  have  learned  of  the  methods  of 
archaeological  study  in  w^hich  the  French  had  al- 
ready met  with  distinguished  success.  Before  Botta 
departed  from  Paris  for  his  new  post  Mohl  had 
impressed  strongly  upon  his  mind  that  a  great 
opportunity  was  now  his  to  dig^  and  not  merely 
to  describe,  explore,  and  plot  the  mounds  oppo- 
site Mosul.  The  preliminary  work  of  plotting 
and  examining  these  mounds  had  been  well  done, 
and  no  more  of  it  was  needed.     Rich  had  made  it 


128     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

entirely  unnecessary  for  any  follower  of  his  to 
repeat  more  of  that  work.  It  was  now  Botta's 
duty  to  dig  beneath  the  surface  of  the  oft-de- 
scribed mounds,  and  determine  finally  whether 
they  covered  any  remains  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Nineveh.  Botta  was  persuaded,  and  went  out  to 
Mosul  to  occupy  his  consulate  on  May  25,  1842. 
That  was  an  historic  day  in  the  annals  of  Assyrian 
study. 

The  French  diplomat  and  archaeologist,  whose 
face  bore  the  fine  lines  of  the  scholar  rather  than 
the  marks  of  a  man  of  the  world,  found  himself  in 
a  place  little  suited  to  one  who  had  lived  in  Paris, 
or  even  in  the  comparative  comfort  of  Alexandria. 
Mosul  was  a  mean  little  city,  built  more  of  mud 
than  of  stone,  lying  upon  the  right  or  western 
bank  of  the  Tigris.  It  had  once  possessed  an  ex- 
tensive commerce  with  the  East,  of  which  it  still 
retained  the  remnants.  Botta  seems  to  have  cared 
little  for  the  town  or  its  fanatical  inhabitants,  and 
were  it  not  for  the  comments  of  Layard,  we  should 
know  little  of  what  it  was  at  this  time.  Botta's 
own  letters  give  it  scarcely  more  than  a  passing 
reference.  When  he  stood  by  the  banks  of  the 
river  Tigris  he  could  see  the  river  Choser  dis- 
charging its  sluggish  and  muddy  waters  into  the 
great  river.  The  eye  could  follow  the  little  river 
back  over  a  plain  which  melted  away  into  the 
mountains  of  Kurdistan  upon  the  east  and  north- 
east. Upon  this  plain  there  were  a  few  squalid 
villages,  the  homes  of  a  peasantry  more  fearful  of 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  129 

the  taxgatherer  than  of  death.  Over  these  the 
pasha  of  Mosul  exercised  a  sway,  patriarchal  only 
in  its  severe  authority.  The  land  had  once  sup- 
ported a  vast  population ;  of  that  the  history  left 
by  Greeks,  Romans,  and  Hebrews  made  no  doubt 
possible.  Besides  these  wretched  villages  the 
most  noticeable  objects  were  several  vast  mounds. 
They  had  been  often  described  before,  and  Botta 
knew  just  what  they  were  supj^osed  to  be.  As 
he  swept  his  eyes  over  them,  the  first  that  was 
noticeable  was  south  of  the  Choser,  on  his  right 
hand  as  he  looked  across  the  river.  It  might 
seem  to  the  untrained  eye  at  first  glance  merely  a 
hill,  a  bit  of  nature's  own  handiwork,  but  the  top 
was  too  flat,  the  sides  unnaturally  regular  and 
steep.  Upon  its  top  rose  a  mosque,  and  grouped 
round  this  were  several  poor  houses  forming  a 
little  village.  The  mound  was  called  Neby  Yunus 
— that  is.  Prophet  Jonah — and  to  his  honor  and 
memory  the  mosque  was  dedicated.  Beneath,  in 
the  mound,  lay  the  prophet's  bones,  according  to 
the  tradition  of  the  natives.  As  he  looked  farther 
north  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Choser  lay  a 
larger  mound  called  Kuyunjik,  where  also  there 
were  some  human  habitations.  This  mound  was 
larger  than  the  other,  and  beyond  them  was  a 
raised  line  which  seemed  to  unite  these  two 
mounds,  and  might  mark  the  remains  of  an  ancient 
line  of  wall  which  inclosed  them  both.  Farther 
back  from  the  Tigris,  upon  the  rising  ground 
along  the  upper  Choser  and  distant  about  fourteen 


130     HISTORY  OP  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

miles  north-northeast  from  Mosul,  was  another 
mound  with  a  village  called  Khorsabad.  Other 
lesser  mounds  were  either  in  sight  or  were  known 
from  the  descriptions  of  travelers  or  from  native 
residents.  Botta  looked  the  field  over  and  doubted 
where  to  begin.  His  first  discouraging  experience 
resulted  from  a  careful  survey  of  the  town  of 
Mosul  itsell  He  had  been  led  to  believe  that  as 
the  towns  about  the  ruins  of  Babylon  had  been 
built  of  brick  dug  from  the  remains  of  the  ancient 
city,  so  he  would  find  in  Mosul  huts  erected  of 
bricks  taken  from  the  ancient  city.  His  plan, 
therefore,  was  to  go  over  Mosul  and  seek  for  signs 
of  ancient-looking  bricks,  and  especially  for  any 
that  were  inscribed  with  cuneiform  characters. 
He  would  then  ascertain  from  what  mound  these 
had  come.  To  his  great  sui'prise  and  discomfiture 
he  found  no  such  memorials  of  the  past,  and  was 
therefore  left  without  this  hint  as  to  the  proper 
place  to  begin  excavations.  The  mounds  were  so 
large  as  to  discourage  aimless  seeking,  and  he  began 
a  process  of  questioning  the  natives  concerning 
any  finds  that  might  be  known.  Gradually  some 
pieces  of  inscribed  stone  were  brought  forth  from 
hiding  places,  and  these  he  bought  from  their  own- 
ers. This  surprising  news  that  a  man  had  come 
to  Mosul  who  would  buy  old  stones  became  noised 
about  the  whole  country,  and  he  had  numerous 
offers  of  bits  of  stone  and  clay.  But  even  vdth 
all  this  advertising  of  his  wishes  the  number  of 
antiquities  offered  was  much  less  than  that  which 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  131 

the  passing  traveler  reported  at  Baghdad  or  at 
Hillah.  Furthermore,  it  was  difficult  to  ascertain 
where  the  natives  had  secured  what  was  offered 
him,  for  they  naturally  desired  to  work  these  mines 
for  their  own  gain  and  not  pennit  the  Frank  to 
learn  of  their  exact  whereabouts.  Botta's  own 
mind  swerved  gradually  round  to  the  notion  that 
the  most  promising  mound  was  Neby  Yunus,  and 
he  carefully  considered  the  possibility  of  digging 
there.  From  this  purpose  he  was  finally  dis- 
suaded by  the  awkward  fact  that  a  village  occu- 
pied the  better  part  of  the  top  of  the  mound, 
which  would  make  digging  almost  impossible  with- 
out the  utter  collapse  and  ruin  of  the  miserable 
hovels.  Besides  this  there  were  Mohammedan 
graves  in  the  mound,  and,  above  all,  was  not  Jonah 
himself  buried  beneath  its  surface  ?  To  disturb  a 
spot  thus  sacred  would  mean  a  revolution  among 
the  natives  which  might  set  the  whole  region 
ablaze  with  fanaticism.  This  plan  was  therefore 
abandoned  and  the  mound  by  Kuyunjik  was 
selected  for  the  fii-st  efforts.  At  the  western  edge 
of  this  mound  near  the  southern  extremity  a  few 
large  bricks  could  be  seen  which  were  joined  with 
bitumen.  These  seemed  to  offer  a  hope  that  they 
belonged  to  some  ancient  building.  Here,  there- 
fore, Botta  began  to  dig  in  December,  1842.  His 
funds  were  very  limited  and  he  could  employ  but  a 
few  workmen,  whose  slow  movements  promised 
little  results.  The  workmen,  however,  discovered 
some  fi'agments  of  bas-reliefs  and  broken  bits  of 


132     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

clay  inscriptions.  For  three  months  the  work 
went  on  and  nothing  large  or  valuable  or  beautiful 
came  out  of  the  little  ditches  or  wells.  AVhat  was 
found  was  interesting  indeed,  for  it  offered  proof 
positive  that  this  mound  really  did  cover  some 
ancient  building  or  buildings.  It  was,  however, 
discouraging  to  find  only  broken  pieces,  and  not 
complete  monuments. 

While  this  work  was  in  progress  the  inhabitants 
gathered  round  the  ditches  and  watched  curiously 
the  slow  and  careful  work.  They  did  not  know 
what  it  all  meant,  but  it  was  perfectly  clear  that 
this  man  was  seeking  inscriptions,  whatever  they 
might  be.  Every  little  fragment  found  which 
contained  any  of  these  strange  little  wedge-shaped 
marks  was  carefully  numbered  and  laid  aside. 
One  of  the  bystanders  whose  home  was  at  Khor- 
sabad  observed  this  proceeding,  and  within  the 
first  month  of  the  excavations  brought  down  from 
Khorsabad  two  large  bricks  with  inscriptions, 
which  he  offered  to  sell  to  Botta.  This  gave  him 
the  hint  that  perhaps  Khorsabad  might  be  a  more 
profitable  mound  for  excavations.  He  was,  how- 
ever, still  hopeful  of  success  at  Kuyunjik,  and 
continued  to  work  on.  At  last,  on  March  20, 
1843,  his  faith  in  this  mound  gave  out,  and  he 
determined  to  send  a  few  men  to  Khorsabad  to  try 
the  mound  there.  It  was  a  fortunate  resolve.  In 
three  days  word  was  brought  to  him  at  Mosul  that 
antiquities  and  inscriptions  had  already  been  found. 
He  was,  however,  skeptical,  fearing  lest  the  records 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  133 

might  be  some  late  Arabic  graffiti,  and  was  there- 
fore unwilling;  to  o^o  himself  lest  those  which  had 
been  found  should  j^rove  valuless.  He  sent  a  serv- 
ant with  instructions  to  copy  a  few  of  the  inscrip- 
tions and  then  report.  The  reply  showed  beyond 
a  doubt  that  the  antiquities  were  really  Assyrian. 
Thereupon  Botta  went  to  the  scene,  to  behold  a 
sight  that  thi-illed  him. 

His  workmen  had  lighted  upon  a  very  well-pre- 
served ancient  wall,  not  of  a  city,  but  of  a  building. 
This  they  had  followed  round  and  so  uncovered 
a  large  room,  in  which  were  lying  fragments  of 
sculptures,  calcined  by  fire,  together  with  a  num- 
ber of  well-preserved  inscriptions.  The  full  mean- 
inoj  of  this  new  room  was  not  ascertained  until  lonsr 
after,  but  some  appreciation  of  it  was  Botta's  own, 
as  he  looked  down  into  the  rude  excavation.  He 
believed  at  once  that  this  was  but  one  room,  per- 
haps of  a  great  palace,  and  proved  the  supposition 
at  once  by  causing  wells  to  be  driven  near  by  in 
several  places,  out  of  which  came  other  bas-reliefs, 
almost  perfectly  preserved.  In  these  his  eyes 
looked  upon  a  sight  which  no  man  had  seen  since 
the  great  royal  city  fell  before  its  enemies  more 
than  two  thousand  four  hundred  years  before. 
Only  one  day  could  Botta  remain  at  Khorsabad, 
and  then  had  to  return  to  Mosul  for  other  duties. 
Thence  he  ^vrote  on  April  5,  1843, '  a  quiet,  digni- 

•  Lettres  de  M.  Botta  siir  les  Decmivertes  d  Kliorsabad,  publiees  par  M. 
J  .Mohl.  Paris,  1845.  M.  Botta's  Letters  on  the  Discoveries  at  Nineveh, 
translated  from  the  French  by  C.  T.     London,  1850. 


134     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

iied  letter  to  tlie  author  of  his  first  enthusiasm,  M. 
Mohl.  There  is  scarcely  a  word  of  enthusiasm  in 
the  letter,  but  it  roused  Mohl  to  contribute  of  his 
own  small  purse  and  also  sent  him  to  the  Academy 
of  Inscriptions  with  Botta's  letter  and  the  ac- 
companying diagrams.  Meanwhile  the  excava- 
tions went  slowly  on,  though  with  some  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  pasha.  A  month  later  a  second 
and  more  important  letter  moved  the  French  gov- 
ernment to  its  old  line  of  generous  assistance  to 
archaeological  research,  and  three  thousand  francs 
were  placed  at  Botta's  disposal  for  further  re- 
searches. 

Thus  supported  by  France,  and  cheered  on  by 
the  ever-active  Mohl,  Botta's  course  seemed  clear 
and  his  success  certain.  He  was,  however,  sorely 
pressed  by  great  difficulties.  The  climate  was 
dangerous,  and  he  almost  fell  a  victim.  The 
natives  were  suspicious  beyond  measure,  and  ham- 
pered his  work  at  every  turn.  Some  supposed  that 
he  was  digging  for  buried  treasure,  and  that  these 
inscriptions  which  he  copied  were  talismanic 
guardians  from  which  he  would  learn  its  exact 
location.  Yet  others  supposed  that  he  was  search- 
ing for  old  title  deeds  by  which  to  prove  that  all 
this  land  had  belonged  to  Europeans,  who  thus 
might  claim  its  restoration.  These  and  similar 
stories  came  to  the  ears  of  Mohammed  Pasha,  then 
governing  the  pashalic  of  Mosul,  and  he  entered 
gradually  upon  a  policy  of  oppression.  He  first 
set  guards  over  Botta's  workmen,  whose  business  it 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-3854.  135 

was  to  seize  any  piece  of  metal  that  might  be 
found  and  dispatch  it  to  him,  that  it  might  be 
carefully  examined  to  determine  whether  it  was 
gold.  This  caused  so  little  inconvenience  to  Botta 
that  it  was  scarcely  worth  the  trouble,  and  he  soon 
felt  compelled  to  resort  to  more  strenuous  meas- 
ures. He  had  given  peiTnission  to  Botta  to  erect 
for  himself  a  small  hut  where  he  might  find  a  resting 
place  when  he  came  up  on  visits  from  Mosul.  The 
wily  pasha  now  pretended  that  this  was  in  reality 
a  fortress  and  that  the  trenches  were  its  defenses. 
It  was  evidently  Botta's  intention  to  overawe  the 
country  by  force  of  arms  and  detach  it  from  the 
sultan's  dominions.  Upon  these  representations 
the  Sublime  Porte  ordered  that  all  the  excava- 
tions should  at  once  cease.  Botta  was  equal  to 
the  painful  emergency.  On  October  15,  1843,  he 
dispatched  a  courier  to  the  French  ambassador  at 
Constantinople,  begging  him  to  make  such  repre- 
sentation to  the  Porte  as  might  secure  permission 
for  the  continuance  of  the  excavations. 

While  these  petitions  were  pending  amid  the 
usual  delays  at  Constantinople  the  wily  pasha  was 
pretending  to  Botta  that  all  his  difficulties  were 
due  to  the  people  of  Khorsabad,  and  not  to  his 
own  machinations.  "I  told  him  one  day,"  says 
Botta,  "that  the  first  rains  of  the  season  had 
caused  a  portion  of  the  house  erected  at  Khorsabad 
to  fall  down.  '  Can  you  imagine,'  said  he,  laugh- 
ing in  the  most  natural  manner,  and  turning  to  the 
numerous  officers  by  whom  he  was  surrounded. 


136     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

'  anything  like  the  impudence  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Khorsabad  ?  They  pretend  that  the  French  consul 
has  constructed  a  redoubtable  fortress,  and  a  little 
rain  is  sufficient  to  destroy  it.  I  can  assure  you, 
sir,  that,  were  I  not  afraid  of  hurting  your  feelings, 
I  would  have  them  all  bastinadoed  till  they  were 
dead ;  they  would  richly  deserve  it,  for  having  dared 
to  accuse  you.'  It  was  in  this  manner  that  he 
spoke,  while  he  himself  was  the  author  of  the  lie, 
and  his  menaces  alone  were  the  obstacles  which 
23revented  the  inhabitants  from  exposing  it." ' 

At  Constantinople  difficulties  innumerable  and 
delays  uncounted  were  found,  and  not  until  May  4, 
1844,  did  the  firmans  allowing  the  work  to  pro- 
ceed reach  Botta  at  Mosul.  They  were  brought 
from  Constantinople  by  M.  E.  Flandin,  who  had 
been  sent  from  Paris  to  copy  and  sketch  all  the 
antiquities  which  were  too  bulky  or  heavy  to  be 
removed.  It  was  already  decided  in  Paris  that 
everything  else  should  be  carried  thither. 

When  Botta  attempted  to  begin  excavations 
again  he  found  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  raze 
the  little  village  and  thus  be  free  to  dig  over  the 
whole  mound.  This  was  accomplished  by  paying 
the  inhabitants  to  remove  to  the  level  ground  at 
the  foot  of  the  mound  and  then  entering  into  an 
agreement  to  restore  the  mound's  surface  as  it  was 
for  their  rebuilding.  The  work  now  went  on  apace. 
Botta  copied  the  inscriptions,  while  Flandin 
planned  all  the  rooms   and  buildings  that  were 

'  Quoted  in  Bonomi,  Nineveh  and  Its  Palaces.     London,  1852,  p.  15. 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  137 

found,  and  three  hundred  native  laborers  worked 
lustily  with  pick  and  shovel  to  lay  bare  this  por- 
tion of  the  ruined  city.  Scores  of  inscriptions, 
chiefly  upon  stone  and  monumental  in  character, 
were  now  found.  Great  winged  bulls  that  once 
had  guarded  palace  doors  came  to  light.  Bas-re- 
liefs of  much  beauty  portraying  scenes  of  peace 
and  war  arose  out  of  dust  and  dirt.  The  success 
of  the  work  passed  all  the  hopes  of  Botta  and  all 
the  enthusiastic  predictions  of  Mohl,  and  almost 
exceeded  the  belief  of  the  learned  world  in  Paris. 
In  October,  1844,  Botta  stopped  the  work  and 
soon  began  to  arrange  for  the  transportation  of 
the  antiquities  to  Paris.  The  difficulties  were 
great  and  the  delays  annoying,  but  at  last,  in  De- 
cember, 1846,  the  entire  mass  of  material  was  suc- 
cessfully landed  at  Havre,  thence  to  be  transported 
to  Paris  and  deposited  in  the  Louvre. 

To  crown  the  work  the  French  government 
published  all  the  drawings  of  Flandin,  all  the 
copies  of  inscriptions,  and  all  the  descriptive 
matter  of  Botta  in  five  mao-nificent  folio  volumes,' 
in  a  style  ^vorthy  of  French  traditions  and  of 
French  liberality  to  archaeological  research. 

So  ended  in  a  worthy  publicity  the  first  great 
expedition  to  Assyria  which  had  succeeded  in 
bringing  to  Europe  the  first  Assyrian  monuments 

'  Monument  de  Ninive  decouvert  et  decrit,  par  M.  P.  E.  Botta,  mesure  et 
dessine  par  M.  E.  Flandin.  Ouvrage  public  par  ordre  du  gouvernemeut 
sous  les  auspices  de  M.  le  Ministre  de  I'lnterieur,  et  sous  la  direction  d'une 
Commission  de  I'lnstitut.  Tomes  i-v.  Paris,  Imprimerie  Nationale, 
1849—. 
11 


138     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

wliicli  the  Occident  had  ever  seen.  It  was  a  noble 
work  of  Botta,  of  Flandin,  of  Mohl,  and  of  France. 

Botta  would  probably  have  gone  back  to 
Khorsabad  or  to  some  other  mound  in  the  district 
of  Nineveh  after  the  publication  of  his  discoveries 
had  he  not  been  sent  into  government  service 
elsewhere.  His  work  might  well  call  him  to  re- 
turn, but  another  would  soon  continue  it. 

On  March  5,  1817,  there  was  born  in  Paris  an 
English  boy  of  Huguenot  descent,  whose  early 
training,  gathered  here  and  there  in  England, 
France,  and  Italy,'  awakened  in  him  a  love  for  the 
fine  arts,  an  interest  in  archaeology,  and  a  passion 
for  travel.  In  the  boyish  days  of  Austen  Henry 
Layard  his  eager  reading  of  the  Arcthian  Nights 
was  mixed  with  study  of  Fellowe's  travels  in  Asia 
Minor  and  with  the  perusal  of  Rich's  accounts  of 
discovery  at  Babylon  and  Nineveh.  Kich's  jour- 
nal filled  him  with  desire  to  see  these  great 
mounds  beneath  which  lay  ancient  memorials  of 
untold  interest.  Herein  again,  as  often  before,  is 
seen  the  continuity  of  research  in  these  lands,  the 
influence  of  enthusiasm  carried  over  from  man  to 
man. 

Fortunately  for  science  Layard's  education  had 
been  too  uneven  to  fit  him  for  the  pursuit  of  a 
profession,  and  the  law,  for  which  he  was  destined, 
did  not  awake  in  him  an  enthusiasm  sufficient  to 

'  The  early  life  of  Layard  is  sketched  very  briefly  by  Lord  Aberdare  in 
the  introduction  of  the  second  edition  of  Layard,  Early  Adventures  in 
Persia^  Susiana,  and  Babylonia.     London,  1894. 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  139 

overcome  the  early  defects.  The  restless  fever 
was  in  his  blood,  and  the  quiet  ways  of  England 
were  too  tame  for  the  almost  Gallic  spirit  within 
him.  He  deteimined,  therefore,  to  seek  a  career 
in  Ceylon,  and  in  1839,  when  a  mere  boy  in  ap- 
pearance and  but  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he  set 
out  to  make  the  journey  overland  in  company  with 
Edward  Ledwich  Mitford,  who  was  bent  upon  the 
same  business.  Mitford  was  nearly  ten  years  older 
than  Layard  and  had  had  experience  in  Moroc- 
co, where  he  had  learned  the  Arabic  dialect  there 
in  use.  Before  setting  out  upon  this  journey  Lay- 
ard had  learned  a  little  Arabic  and  Persian,  and 
had  tried  to  make  other  hasty  preparations  for 
the  dangerous  voyage  over  lands  almost  unknown, 
amid  savage  animals  and  even  more  savage  men. 
Upon  reaching  Hamadan,  Persia,  Layard  aban- 
doned the  plan  of  seeking  his  fortune  in  Ceylon, 
and  therein  archaeology  triumphed  over  commerce. 
Mitford  pursued  his  way  on  to  Ceylon,  and  Layard 
returned  into  western  Asia.' 

It  was  upon  May  10,  1840,  that  Layard  and 
Mitford  first  saw  Mosul  and  examined  somewhat 
curiously  the  mounds  on  the  opposite  bank,  which 
Layard  had  learned  from  Rich  to  consider  the  re- 

'  The  story  of  Layard's  early  wanderings  is  told  in  A  Land  March  from 
England  to  Ceylon,  forty  years  ago,  by  Edward  Ledwich  Mitford,  F.  R.  G.  S., 
two  volumes,  London,  1884,  which  describes  the  European  travels  and  the 
oriental  as  far  as  Hamadan.  The  story  is  continued  in  Early  Adventures 
in  Persia,  Susiana,  and  Babylonia,  by  Sir  Henry  Layard,  G.  C.  B.,  two 
volumes,  London,  1887.  Mitford's  book  very  curiously  refrains  from 
mentioning  Layard's  name. 


140     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

mains  of  Nineveh.  The  mounds  of  Kuyunjik 
and  Neby  Yunus  did  not  make  so  great  an  im- 
pression upon  Layard  as  did  the  great  mound  of 
Nimroud,  farther  south.  But  all  aroused  in  him 
a  deep  longing  to  learn  their  secrets.  Even  then 
he  could  say,  "  These  huge  mounds  of  Assyria 
made  a  deeper  impression  upon  me,  gave  rise  to 
more  serious  thought  and  more  earnest  reflection, 
than  the  temples  of  Baalbec  or  the  theaters  of 
Ionia."  This  spell  deepened  as  he  saw  more  of 
Nimroud  by  rafting  down  the  Tigris  toward  Bagh- 
dad. His  words  are  a  promise  of  the  work  that 
was  to  follow : 

"  It  was  evening  as  we  approached  the  spot. 
The  spring  rains  had  clothed  the  mounds  with  the 
richest  verdure,  and  the  fertile  meadows,  which 
stretched  around  it,  were  covered  with  flowers  of 
every  hue.  Amidst  this  luxuriant  vegetation 
were  partly  concealed  a  few  fragments  of  bricks, 
pottery,  and  alabaster,  uj)on  which  might  be  traced 
the  well-defined  wedges  of  the  cuneiform  charac- 
ter. Did  not  these  remains  mark  the  nature  of 
the  ruin,  it  might  have  been  confounded  with 
a  natural  eminence.  A  long  line  of  consecutive 
narrow  mounds,  still  retaining  the  appearance 
of  walls  or  ramparts,  stretched  from  its  base, 
and  formed  a  vast  quadrangle.  The  river  flowed 
at  some  distance  from  them,  its  waters,  swollen 
by  the  melting  of  the  snows  on  the  Armenian 
hills,  were  broken  into  a  thousand  foaming  whirl- 
pools   by   an    artificial   barrier   built   across    the 


EXCAVATIONS,    1843-1854.  141 

stream.  On  the  eastern  bank  the  soil  had  been 
washed  away  by  the  current,  but  a  solid  mass  of 
masonry  still  withstood  its  impetuosity.  The 
Arab  who  guided  my  small  raft  gave  himself  up 
to  religious  ejaculations  as  we  approached  this 
formidable  cataract,  over  which  we  were  carried 
with  some  violence.  Once  safely  through  the 
danger,  my  companion  explained  to  me  that  this 
unusual  change  in  the  quiet  face  of  the  river  was 
caused  by  a  great  dam  which  had  been  built  by 
Nimrod,  and  that  in  the  autumn,  before  the  winter 
rains,  the  huge  stones  of  which  it  was  constructed, 
squared,  and  united  by  clamps  of  iron,  were  fre- 
quently visible  above  the  surface  of  the  stream. 
It  was,  in  fact,  one  of  those  monuments  of  a  great 
people  to  be  found  in  all  the  rivers  of  Mesopo- 
tamia, which  were  undertaken  to  insure  a  con- 
stant supply  of  water  to  the  innumerable  canals, 
spreading  like  network  over  the  surrounding 
country,  and  which,  even  in  the  days  of  Alexan- 
der, were  looked  upon  as  the  works  of  an  ancient 
nation.  No  wonder  that  the  traditions  of  the 
present  inhabitants  of  the  land  should  assign  them 
to  one  of  the  founders  of  the  human  race !  The 
Arab  was  telling  me  of  the  connection  between 
the  dam  and  the  city  built  by  Athur,  the  lieuten- 
ant of  Mmrod,  the  vast  ruins  of  which  wei'e 
now  before  us — of  its  purpose  as  a  causeway  for 
the  mighty  hunter  to  cross  to  the  opposite  palace, 
now  represented  by  the  mound  of  Hammum  Ali — 
and  of  the  histories  and  fate  of  kings  of  a  primi- 


142     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

tive  race  still  the  favorite  theme  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  plain  of  Shinar,  when  the  last  glow  of 
twilight  faded  away,  and  I  fell  alseep  as  we  glided 
onward  to  Baghdad. 

"My  curiosity  had  been  greatly  excited,  and 
from  that  time  I  formed  the  design  of  thoroughly 
examining,  whenever  it  might  be  in  my  power, 
these  singular  ruins." ' 

The  resolve  expressed  in  this  last  sentence  is 
very  striking  when  one  remembers  that  it  was 
taken  in  April,  1840.  This  was  more  than  two 
years  before  Botta  had  even  seen  the  mounds.  At 
least  in  the  thought  of  excavation  Layard  antici- 
pated Botta,  though  the  good  fortune  of  the  latter 
gave  him  the  precedence  in  the  field. 

In  May,  1842,  Layard  passed  through  Mosul  on 
his  way  to  Constantinople,  and  found  Botta  estab- 
lished as  consular  agent  and  already  engaged  in 
carrying  on  excavations  at  Kuyunjik.  Layard 
was  too  much  a  man  of  dignity,  even  in  his  youth, 
to  feel  any  envy  of  the  fortunate  Frenchman,  who 
was  now  doing  what  he  had  been  dreaming.  In 
the  two  years  which  had  passed  Layard  had  at- 
tempted to  secure  aid  to  enable  him  to  undertake 
just  such  work  as  this,  but  in  vain.  His  own 
government  was  not  as  easily  induced  to  aid 
archaeologists  as  the  government  of  France, 
whether  monarchical  or  republican,  has   always 

'  Nineveh  and  Its  Remains ;  with  an  account  of  a  visit  to  the  Chaldean 
Christians  of  Kurdistan,  and  the  Yezidis,  or  Devil-worshippers ;  and  an  en- 
quiry into  the  Manners  and  Arts  of  the  Ancient  Assyrians,  by  Austen 
Henry  Layard,  Esq.,  D.C.L.     Two  volumes.     London,  1849,  i,  pp.  ^,  8. 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  143 

been.  Layard  then  formed  terms  of  friendship 
with  Botta,  and  entered  upon  a  corresjjondence. 
"When  Botta  was  discouraged  at  his  small  suc- 
cess it  was  Layard  who  wrote  urging  him  to  per- 
severe. 

At  the  time  of  this  second  visit  to  Mosul,  La- 
yard was  on  his  way  home  to  England.  At  Con- 
stantinople, however,  he  was  detained  and  sent 
thence  to  Salonica  upon  ser\^ce  for  the  British 
embassy.  The  British  ambassador  at  Constantino- 
ple was  now  Sir  Stratford  Canning,  afterward 
Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  who  had  secured  for 
the  British  Museum  the  marbles  of  Halicarnassus. 
The  skill,  patience,  and  ardor  with  which  he  had 
pursued  the  efforts  required  to  obtain  these  had 
increased  his  own  interest  in  the  monuments  of 
the  past.  To  him  Layard  told  the  story  of  the 
mounds,  and  described  his  eagerness  to  try  exca- 
vations in  them.  At  last  he  had  found  the  right 
man,  and  Sir  Stratford  gave  him  £60,  to  which 
Layard  was  to  add  an  equal  amount  collected  among 
friends.  With  this  small  sum  Layard  left  Con- 
stantinople October,  1845,  and  traveled  with  all 
haste  to  Mosul.  Mohammed  Pasha  was  now  gov- 
ernor of  the  province,  and  from  him  Layard  could 
expect  no  help,  but  every  possible  interference. 
He  therefore  concealed  the  object  of  his  mission, 
but  after  a  few  days  gave  out  that  he  was  going 
to  hunt  wild  boars,  and  then  left  Mosul  by  a  raft 
to  float  down  to  Nimroud,  where  he  had  deter- 
mined to  besrin  excavations.     Here  an  Arab  tent 


144     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

sheltered  liim,  and  hearts  more  tender  than  the 
pasha's  watched  over  him.  His  record  of  the  night 
before  the  first  spade  was  struck  into  the  ground 
reveals  the  enthusiasm  of  the  man,  and  gives  some 
clue  to  his  great  success : 

"  I  had  slept  little  during  the  night.  The  hovel 
in  which  we  had  taken  shelter,  and  its  inmates, 
did  not  invite  slumber ;  but  such  scenes  and  com- 
panions were  not  new  to  me;  they  could  have 
been  forgotten  had  my  brain  been  less  excited. 
Hopes  long  cherished  were  now  to  be  realized  or 
were  to  end  in  disaj)pointment.  Visions  of  pal- 
aces underground,  of  gigantic  monsters,  of  sculp- 
tured figures,  and  endless  inscriptions  floated 
before  me.  After  forming  plan  after  plan  for  re- 
moving the  earth  and  extricating  these  treasures, 
I  fancied  myself  wandering  in  a  maze  of  chambers 
from  which  I  could  find  no  outlet.  Then,  again, 
all  was  reburied  and  I  was  standing  on  the  grass- 
covered  mound.  Exhausted,  I  was  at  length  sink- 
ing into  sleep  when,  hearing  the  voice  of  Awad  [his 
Arab  host],  I  rose  from  my  carpet  and  joined  him 
outside  the  hovel.  The  day  had  already  dawned ; 
he  had  returned  with  six  Arabs,  who  agreed  for 
a  small  sum  to  work  under  my  direction." ' 

The  excavations  thus  begun  were  carried  on 
until  December  amid  constant  difficulties  set  on 
foot  by  the  pasha.  The  plans  pursued  were  ex- 
actly the  same  as  were  followed  against  Botta. 
When  the  excavations  were  resumed,  after  a  visit 

'  Nineveh  and  Its  Remains,  i,  p.  25. 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  145 

to  Baghdad,  they  were  again  interrupted  by  the 
fanatacism  of  the  Arabs,  operating  upon  the  new 
governor  of  the  province,  Ismail  Pasha.  When 
they  were  again  resumed,in  February,  1846,  Layard 
left  the  mound  to  visit  a  neighboring  sheikh,  and 
was  returning  to  the  mound  when  he  observed 
two  Arabs  hastening  to  meet  him  with  excited 
faces.  The  narrative  of  what  followed  is  best 
told  by  Layard  himself: 

"On  approaching  me  they  stopped.  ^Hasten, 
O  Bey,'  exclaimed  one  of  them — 'hasten  to  the 
diggers,  for  they  have  found  Nimrod  himself. 
AVallah,  it  is  wonderful,  but  it  is  true !  we  have 
seen  him  with  our  eyes.  There  is  no  God  but 
God ; '  and  both  joining  in  this  pious  exclamation, 
they  galloped  off,  without  further  words,  in  the 
direction  of  their  tents. 

"  On  reaching  the  ruins  I  descended  into  the 
new  trench,  and  found  the  workmen,  who  had 
already  seen  me  as  I  approached,  standing  near  a 
heap  of  baskets  and  cloaks.  Whilst  Awad  ad- 
vanced and  asked  for  a  present  to  celebrate  the 
occasion,  the  Arabs  withdrew  the  screen  they  had 
hastily  constructed  and  disclosed  an  enormous 
human  head  sculptured  in  full  out  of  the  alabaster 
of  the  country.  They  had  uncovered  the  upper 
pai*t  of  a  figure,  the  remainder  of  which  was  still 
buried  in  the  earth.  I  saw  at  once  that  the  head 
must  belong  to  a  winged  lion  or  bull,  similar  to 
those  of  Khorsabad  and  Persepolis.  It  was  in 
admirable  preservation.    The  expression  was  calm^ 


146     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

yet  majestic,  and  the  outline  of  the  features 
showed  a  freedom  and  knowledge  of  art  scarcely 
to  be  looked  for  in  the  works  of  so  remote  a 
period.  The  cap  had  three  horns,  and,  unlike 
that  of  the  human-headed  bulls  hitherto  found  in 
Assyria,  was  rounded  and  without  ornament  at 
the  top. 

"  I  was  not  surprised  that  the  Arabs  had  been 
amazed  and  terrified  at  this  apparition.  It  re- 
quired no  stretch  of  imagination  to  conjure  up  the 
most  strange  fancies.  This  gigantic  head,  blanched 
with  age,  thus  rising  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
might  well  have  belonged  to  one  of  those  fearful 
beings  which  are  pictured  in  the  traditions  of  the 
country  as  appearing  to  mortals,  slowly  ascend- 
ing from  the  regions  below.  One  of  the  workmen, 
on  catching  the  first  glimpse  of  the  monster,  had 
thrown  dowTi  his  basket  and  run  off  toward 
Mosul  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him.  I 
learned  this  with  regret,  as  I  anticipated  the  con- 
sequences. 

"While  I  was  superintending  the  removal  of 
the  earth,  which  still  clung  to  the  sculpture,  and 
giving  directions  for  the  continuation  of  the  work, 
a  noise  of  horsemen  was  heard,  and  presently 
Abd-ur-rahmar,  followed  by  half  his  tribe,  ap- 
peared on  the  edge  of  the  trench.  As  soon  as  the 
two  Arabs  had  reached  the  tents  and  published 
the  wonders  they  had  seen  everyone  mounted  his 
mare  and  rode  to  the  mound,  to  satisfy  himself  of 
the  truth  of  these  inconceivable  reports.     When 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  147 

they  beheld  the  head  they  all  cried  together, 
*  There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his 
prophet ! '  It  was  some  time  before  the  sheikh 
could  be  prevailed  upon  to  descend  into  the  pit 
and  convince  himself  that  the  image  he  saw  was 
of  stone.  '■  This  is  not  the  work  of  men's  hands,' 
exclaimed  he,  '  but  of  those  infidel  giants  of  whom 
the  prophet,  peace  be  with  him!  has  said  that 
they  were  higher  than  the  tallest  date  tree ;  this 
is  one  of  the  idols  which  Noah,  peace  be  with 
him !  cursed  before  the  flood.'  In  this  opinion, 
the  result  of  a  careful  examination,  all  the  by- 
standers concurred. 

"I  now  ordered  a  trench  to  be  dug  due  south 
from  the  head,  in  the  expectation  of  finding  a  cor- 
responding figure,  and  before  nightfall  reached  the 
object  of  my  search,  about  twelve  feet  distant. 
Engaging  two  or  three  men  to  sleep  near  the 
sculptures,  I  returned  to  the  village  and  celebrated 
the  day's  discovery  by  a  slaughter  of  sheep,  of 
which  all  the  Arabs  near  partook.  As  some  wan- 
dering musicians  chanced  to  be  at  Selamiyah,  I 
sent  for  them,  and  dances  were  kept  up  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  night.  On  the  following 
morning  Arabs  from  the  other  side  of  the  Tigris 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  villages  con- 
gregated on  the  mound.  Even  the  women  could 
not  repress  their  curiosity,  and  came  in  crowds, 
with  their  children,  from  afar.  My  cawass  was 
stationed  during  the  day  in  the  trench,  into  which 
I  would  not  allow  the  multitude  to  descend. 


148     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

"  As  I  had  expected,  the  report  of  the  discovery 
of  the  gigantic  head,  carried  by  the  terrified  Arab 
to  Mosul,  had  thrown  the  town  into  commotion. 
He  had  scarcely  checked  his  speed  before  reach- 
ing the  bridge.  Entering  breathless  into  the 
bazaars,  he  announced  to  everyone  he  met  that 
Nimrod  had  appeared.  The  news  soon  got  to  the 
ears  of  the  cadi,  who,  anxious  for  a  fresh  oppor- 
tunity to  annoy  me,  called  the  mufti  and  the 
ulema  together  to  consult  upon  this  unexpected 
occurrence.  Their  deliberations  ended  in  a  pro- 
cession to  the  governor,  and  a  formal  protest  on 
the  part  of  the  Mussulmans  of  the  town  against 
proceedings  so  directly  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
the  Koran.  The  cadi  had  no  distinct  idea 
whether  the  bones  of  the  mighty  hunter  had  been 
uncovered  or  only  his  image;  nor  did  Ismail 
Pasha  very  clearly  remember  whether  Nimrod 
was  a  true  believing  prophet  or  an  infidel.  I 
consequently  received  a  somewhat  unintelligible 
message  from  his  excellency  to  the  effect  that 
the  remains  should  be  treated  with  respect,  and 
be  by  no  means  further  disturbed,  and  that  he 
wished  the  excavations  to  be  stopped  at  once,  and 
desired  to  confer  with  me  on  the  subject. 

"  I  called  upon  him  accordingly,  and  had  some 
difficulty  in  making  him  understand  the  nature  of 
my  discovery.  As  he  requested  me  to  discontinue 
my  operations  until  the  sensation  in  the  town  had 
somewhat  subsided,  I  returned  to  Nimroud  and 
dismissed  the  workmen,  retaining  only  two  men 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  149 

to  dig  leisurely  along  the  walls  without  giving 
cause  for  further  interference.  I  ascertained  by 
the  end  of  March  the  existence  of  a  second  pair 
of  winged  human-headed  lions,  differing  from  those 
previously  discovered  in  form,  the  human  shape 
being  continued  to  the  waist  and  finished  with 
arms.  In  one  hand  each  figure  carried  a  goat  or 
stag,  and  in  the  other,  which  hung  down  by  the 
side,  a  branch  with  three  flowers.  They  formed 
a  northern  entrance  into  the  chamber  of  which 
the  lions  previously  described  were  the  southern 
portal.  I  completely  uncovered  the  latter,  and 
found  them  to  be  entire.  They  were  about 
twelve  feet  in  height,  and  the  same  number  in 
length.  The  body  and  limbs  were  admirably  por- 
trayed; the  muscles  and  bones,  though  strongly 
developed  to  display  the  strength  of  the  animal, 
showed  at  the  same  time  a  correct  knowledge  of 
its  anatomy  and  form.  Exj)anded  wings  sprung 
from  the  shoulder  and  spread  over  the  back;  a 
knotted  girdle,  ending  in  tassels,  encircled  the 
loins.  These  sculptures,  forming  an  entrance,  were 
partly  in  full  and  partly  in  relief.  The  head  and 
fore  part,  facing  the  chamber,  were  in  full ;  but 
only  one  side  of  the  rest  of  the  slab  was  sculp- 
tured, the  back  being  placed  against  the  wall  of 
sun-dried  bricks.  That  the  spectator  might  have 
both  a  perfect  front  and  side  view  of  the  figures 
they  were  furnished  with  five  legs;  two  were 
carved  on  the  end  of  the  slab  to  face  the  chamber, 
and  three  on  the  side.     The  relief  of  the  body 


150     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

and  three  limbs  was  high  and  bold,  and  the  slab 
was  covered  in  all  parts  not  occupied  by  the 
image  with  inscriptions  in  the  cuneiform  charac- 
ter. These  magnificent  specimens  of  Assyrian  art 
were  in  perfect  preservation;  the  most  minute 
lines  in  the  details  of  the  wings  and  in  the  or- 
naments had  been  retained  with  their  original 
freshness.  Not  a  character  was  wanting  in  the 
inscriptions. 

"I  used  to  contemplate  for  houi^  these  mys- 
terious emblems,  and  muse  over  their  intent  and 
history.  What  more  noble  forms  could  have  ush- 
ered the  people  into  the  temple  of  their  gods  ? 
What  more  sublime  images  could  have  been  bor- 
rowed from  nature  by  men  who  sought,  unaided 
by  the  light  of  revealed  religion,  to  embody  their 
conception  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and  ubiquity  of  a 
Supreme  Being  ?  They  could  find  no  better  type 
of  intellect  and  knowledge  than  the  head  of  the 
man ;  of  strength,  than  the  body  of  the  lion ;  of  ra- 
pidity of  motion,  than  the  wings  of  the  bird.  These 
winged  human-headed  lions  were  not  idle  crea- 
tions, the  offspring  of  mere  fancy ;  their  meaning 
was  written  upon  them.  They  had  awed  and  in- 
structed races  which  flourished  three  thousand 
yeai^  ago.  Through  the  portals  which  they  guarded 
kings,  priests,  and  warriors  had  borne  sacrifices  to 
their  altars  long  before  the  wisdom  of  the  East 
had  penetrated  to  Greece,  and  had  furnished  its 
mythology  with  symbols  long  recognized  by  the 
Assyrian  votaries.   They  may  have  been  buried,  and 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  151 

their  existence  may  have  been  unknown,  before 
the  foundation  of  the  Eternal  City.  For  twenty- 
five  centuries  they  had  been  hidden  from  the  eye 
of  man,  and  they  now  stood  forth  once  more  in 
their  ancient  majesty.  But  how  changed  was  the 
scene  around  them !  The  luxury  and  civilization 
of  a  mighty  nation  had  given  place  to  the  wretched- 
ness and  ignorance  of  a  few  half-barbarous  tribes. 
The  wealth  of  temples  and  the  riches  of  great 
cities  had  been  succeeded  by  ruins  and  shapeless 
heaps  of  earth.  Above  the  spacious  hall  in  which 
they  stood  the  plow  had  passed  and  the  corn  now 
waved.  Egypt  has  monuments  no  less  ancient 
and  no  less  wonderful,  but  they  have  stood  forth 
for  ages  to  testify  her  early  power  and  renown, 
while  those  before  me  had  but  now  appeared  to 
bear  witness,  in  the  words  of  the  prophet,  that 
once  Hhe  Assyi'ian  was  a  cedar  in  Lebanon  with 
fair  branches,  and  with  a  shadowing  shroud  of  an 
high  stature;  and  his  top  was  among  the  thick 
boughs  ...  his  height  was  exalted  above  all  the 
trees  of  the  field,  and  his  boughs  were  multiplied, 
and  his  branches  became  long,  because  of  the 
multitude  of  waters  when  he  shot  forth.  All  the 
fowls  of  heaven  made  their  nests  in  his  boughs, 
and  under  his  branches  did  all  the  beasts  of  the 
field  bring  forth  their  young,  and  under  his  shadow 
dwelt  all  great  nations ; '  for  now  is  '  Nineveh  a 
desolation  and  dry  like  a  wilderness,  and  flocks  lie 
down  in  the  midst  of  her:  all  the  beasts  of  the 
nations,  both  the  cormorant  and  bittern,  lodge  in 


152     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

the  upper  liutels  of  it ;  their  voice  sings  in  the 
windows ;  and  desolation  is  in  the  thresholds.' "  ' 

In  one  respect  this  narrative  of  Layard's  far 
excels  all  that  had  been  written  by  the  men  who 
before  his  day  had  seen  or  measured  or  worked  in 
these  mounds.  None  before  had  ever  told  the 
story  of  their  experiences  or  of  their  discoveries 
in  words  so  full  of  color,  life,  and  movement ;  none 
had  ever  displayed  so  much  of  enthusiasm  and  so 
great  a  power  of  description.  In  another  respect 
Layard  becomes  a  successor  of  one  of  the  earliest 
of  English  travelers  and  explorers.  Like  Shirley,  he 
knew  how  to  make  all  that  he  saw  bear  upon  the 
words  of  the  Bible.  He  could  quote  the  very 
words  out  of  the  Scriptures  and  make  the  dust- 
covered  monument  reflect  a  bright  light  upon 
them.  These  two  powers — the  power  of  descrip- 
tion in  color  and  the  power  of  biblical  comparison 
— ranged  all  England  at  his  back.  They  who 
cared  nothing  for  the  Bible  were  moved  by  the 
fire  and  the  beauty  of  his  description;  they  who 
loved  the  Bible  saw  in  him  a  man  who  was  mak- 
ing discoveries  which  promised  to  illustrate  or 
confirm  records  to  them  most  dear.  In  due  time, 
also,  these  influences  became  so  potent  that  the 
British  government  was  moved  to  lend  a  hand  to 
this  work,  and  so  that  which  had  been  begun  up- 
on slender  private  means  became  a  great  national 
enterprise. 

The  colossal    figures    which   so    deeply   moved 

'  Layard,  Nineveh  and  Its  Remains,  i,  65,  ff. 


EXCAVATIONS,    1843-1854.  153 

Layard  were  indeed  a  noble  sight,  but  they  were 
not  so  important  as  the  smaller  inscriptions  which 
were  later  to  be  dug  out  of  their  resting  places. 
Layard  had  suj)posed  that  the  winged  lions  had 
guarded  the  entrance  of  some  great  temple,  the 
spade  was  later  to  show  that  they  had  stood  at  the 
portals  of  the  palace  of  Shalmaneser  II. 

The  work  which  revealed  these  monuments  had 
been  carried  on  under  many  difficulties  and  with  a 
constant  dread  of  interruption  from  the  suspicious 
natives  or  their  rulers.  It  was  therefore  a  great 
relief  to  Layard's  anxieties  when  he  received  from 
Constantinople  a  "  vizirial  letter,  procured  by  Sir 
Stratford  Canning,  authorizing  the  continuation  of 
the  excavations  and  the  removal  of  such  objects 
as  might  be  discovered."  This  put  another  face 
upon  Layard's  work,  and  enabled  him  to  do 
openly  work  which  had  hitherto  been  carried  on 
with  as  much  concealment  as  possible.  He  now 
made  some  small  attempts  upon  the  mound  of 
Kuyunjik,  but  his  funds  were  extremely  limited 
and  the  results  were  not  encouraging.  He  there- 
fore resumed  with  fresh  vio-or  the  work  at  Nim- 
roud,  from  which  he  was  shortly  able  to  send  a 
large  consignment  of  monuments  on  a  raft  to 
Baghdad  and  thence  to  Bassorah,  for  transportation 
to  England.  Soon  after  which  his  health,  already 
undermined  by  the  enervating  climate,  compelled 
him  to  cease  work  and  make  a  mountain  journey 
for  recuperation. 

Upon  his  return  to  Mosul  he  found  letters  from 

12 


154     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRLl. 

England  advising  him  that  Sir  Stratford  Canning 
had  presented  to  the  British  Museum  the  antiqui- 
ties which  had  been  found,  and  that  furthermore 
the  Museum  had  received  from  the  government  a 
grant  of  funds  for  continuing  the  work.  This  was 
good  news  indeed,  though  Layard  had  to  lament 
that  it  was  so  much  smaller  than  Botta  had  en- 
joyed, and  that  therefore  he  must  stint  and  econo- 
mize and  strive  to  utilize  every  penny. 

With  such  resources  as  he  had  the  work  was 
resumed  in  October,  1846,  and  a  winter  campaign 
was  carefully  planned.  Huts  were  erected  for 
shelter  from  the  storms;  wandering  Arabs  were 
induced  to  pitch  their  tents  near  by,  and  instead 
of  living  by  plunder  draw  wages  for  labor  in  the 
trenches.  Many  a  new  plan  of  dealing  with  trouble- 
some natives  was  tried  and  the  better  adopted. 
In  all  this  Layard  had  the  valuable  assistance  of 
Mr.  Hormuzd  Rassam,  whose  brother,  Charles  Ras- 
sam,  was  British  vice  consul  at  Mosul.  Hormuzd 
Rassam  was  native  born  and  understood  the  peo- 
ple as  no  European  could  hope  to  do.  He  con- 
ducted most  of  the  dealings  with  them,  and  kept 
the  peace  without  use  of  force. 

The  excavations  carried  on  under  these  auspices, 
and  with  the  powers  which  Layard  then  possessed, 
were  successful  beyond  his  wildest  dreams.  As 
the  trenches  followed  round  the  walls  of  room 
after  room  they  uncovered  great  slabs  of  alabaster, 
with  which  the  chamber  walls  were  wainscoted, 
and  these  were  found  to  be  richly  carved  in  relief 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  155 

with  scenes  of  hunting,  of  war,  and  of  solemn 
ceremony.  The  very  life  of  palace,  camp,  and 
field  in  Assyrian  days  came  back  again  before  the 
astonished  eyes  of  the  explorer,  while  these  re- 
ceived an  addition  to  their  verisimilitude  by  the 
discovery  in  some  of  the  ruins  of  pieces  of  iron 
which  had  once  formed  parts  of  the  same  kind  of 
armor  as  that  portrayed  on  the  reliefs,  together 
with  iron  and  bronze  helmets,  while  in  others 
were  found  vases  and  ornamentally  carved  pieces 
of  ivory.  Here  were  the  pictures  and  there  were 
the  objects  which  they  represented.  As  the 
trenches  were  dug  deeper  or  longer  monuments 
carved  or  inscribed  were  found  daily.  One  trench 
ten  feet  beneath  the  surface  uncovered  the  edge  of 
a  piece  of  black  marble.  It  was  the  comer  of  "  an 
obelisk  about  seven  feet  high,  lying  on  its  side." 
It  was  covered  on  three  sides  with  inscriptions  and 
with  twenty  small  bas-reliefs.  The  inscriptions 
recorded  and  the  bas-reliefs  illustrated  various 
forms  of  gift  and  tribute  which  had  been  received 
by  Shalmaneser  II,  though  when  found  these  facts 
were  of  course  unknown.  No  inscription  equal  in 
beauty  and  in  the  promise  of  valuable  historical 
material  had  yet  been  found  in  Assyria.  Layard 
was  therefore  particularly  anxious  to  get  it  away 
from  the  place  lest  some  mishap  should  befall  it. 
He  therefore  set  Arabs  to  sleep  and  watch  by  it 
overnight  and  had  it  speedily  packed  for  ship- 
ment. Day  after  day  the  work  went  on  with  the 
regular   and    constant   discoveiy   of   stone    slabs 


156     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

similar  to  those  which  had  been  found  before,  and 
with  the  finding  of  inscribed  bricks  which,  though 
not  so  beautiful  as  the  stone,  contained  much  more 
historical  material. 

When  the  trenches  began  to  yield  less  material 
Ijayard  determined  to  try  elsewhere.  Had  his 
funds  not  been  so  severely  limited,  he  would  have 
continued  still  further  the  excavations  at  Nimroud, 
even  though  they  did  not  appear  to  be  immedi- 
ately productive.  This  would  have  been  the  best 
method  of  procedure,  but  the  means  would  not 
permit  it,  and  Layard  had  to  seek  fresh  soil. 

For  his  next  adventure  he  chose  the  mound  of 
Kalah  Shergat,  where  he  had  before  desired  to 
make  excavations.  Out  of  these  ruins  were  taken 
an  interesting  sitting  figure  and  many  small  bricks 
with  inscriptions,  some  of  which  belong  to  the 
earliest  of  the  great  Assyrian  conquerors,  Tiglath- 
pileser  I.  But  what  ancient  city  this  might  be 
Layard  was  unable  to  ascertain.  That  it  was 
none  other  than  the  city  of  Asshur,'  first  capital 
of  the  kingdom,  was  a  discovery  made  afterward. 

A  few  days  were  also  given  to  excavation  in 
the  mound  of  Kuyunjik  with  similar  good  for- 
tune, and  then  the  work  had  to  cease  because  of 
the  consumption  of  the  means  for  its  carrying  on. 
On  June  24,  1847,  Layard  left  Mosul  for  the  land 
journey  to  Constantinople,  after  having  sent  the 
last  of  his  discoveries  down  the  Tigris. 

After  a  few  months'  rest  in  England,  devoted 

*  See  infra,  p.  29*7. 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  157 

in  considerable  measure  to  the  preparation  of  the 
narrative  of  his  expedition  and  of  the  copies  of 
the  monuments  which  he  had  found,  Layard  was 
ordered  to  Constantinople  to  service  with  the 
British  embassy.  He  had  not  been  able  to  finish 
for  the  press  the  work  which  he  had  written,  and 
went  out  to  his  duty  not  knowing  whether  his 
story  would  awaken  any  interest  or  not.  He  does 
not  appear  even  to  have  dreamed  that  any  special 
call  would  come  to  him  to  resume  the  excava- 
tions again.  But  the  books'  were  published  after 
his  departure,  and  at  once  all  England  rang  with 
his  praise  and  with  an  eager  expression  that  this 
work  must  go  on  further.  The  British  Museum 
secured  more  funds  for  the  work  and  he  was  di- 
rected to  set  out  for  Assyria  again.  From  Eng- 
land Hormuzd  Kassam,  Mr.  F.  Cooper,  an  artist, 
and  Dr.  Sandwith,  a  physician,  were  induced  to 
accompany  him.  They  set  sail  from  the  Bos- 
phorus  on  August  28,  1849,  for  Trebizond,  and 
landed  there  on  the  thirty-first  day  and  began  the 
journey  to  Mosul. 

In  this  expedition  he  laid  the  chief  emphasis 
upon  the  mound  of  Kuyunjik  and  Neby  Yunus. 
In  the  former  he  discovered  the  great  palace  of 
Sennacherib,  and  so  keen  was  he  now  become  in 
the  examination  of  insci'iptions  and  tables  of  gene- 
alogy that  he  recognized  the  fact  that  this  edifice 

'  These  books  were  Nineveh  aitd  Its  Remains  (see  references  above)  and 
The  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  by  Austen  Henry  Layard,  Esq.,  D.C.L., 
London,  1849.  The  latter  contained  one  hundred  plates,  many  well  exe- 
cuted, but  far  below  the  standard  of  beauty  set  by  Botta's  superb  volumes. 


138    HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

belonged  to  the  king  whose  son  was  the  builder  of 
the  palace  at  Nimroud  and  whose  father  built  the 
palace  discovered  by  Botta  at  Khorsabad.  It  is 
to  be  remembered  that  he  made  this  conjecture 
without  being  able  to  read  Assyrian  at  all.  Later 
study  has  determined  that  he  had  correctly  ascer- 
tained the  facts.  Sargon  built  the  palace  at 
Khorsabad ;  his  son  Sennacherib  built  the  palace 
at  Kuyunjik,  while  his  son  Esar-haddon  erected 
the  palace  at  Nimroud.  Even  greater  than  in  the 
first  expedition  were  his  discoveries  at  Kuyun- 
jik both  for  the  history,  the  literature,  and  the 
art  of  ancient  Assyria.  But  he  also  conducted 
excavations  at  Kalali  Shergat,  Nimroud,  and 
Khorsabad.  From  Mosul  he  made  excursions  to 
various  sites  in  northern  and  southern  Babylonia. 
Upon  these  excursions  he  visited  and  for  the  first 
time  described  the  great  mound  of  Niffer,  where  a 
later  expedition  was  to  achieve  unparalleled  suc- 
cesses. At  Hillah  he  made  some  excavations,  but 
met  with  little  success. 

After  another  season  he  returned  in  April, 
1852,  to  England.  His  first  work  was  the  writing 
of  his  narrative  and  the  preparing  of  his  inscrip- 
tions for  publication.'      He  found   that  his  pre- 

'  Discoveries  In  the  Ruins  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  with  travels  in 
Armenia,  Kurdistan,  and  the  Desert :  being  the  result  of  a  second  expedi- 
tion undertaken  for  the  trustees  of  the  British  Museum,  by  Austen  H.  Lay- 
ard,  M.P.     London,  1853. 

A  Second  Series  of  the  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  including  bas-reliefs  from 
the  palace  of  Sennacherib  and  bronzes  from  the  ruins  of  Nimroud,  from 
drawings  made  on  the  spot  during  a  second  expedition  to  Assyria,  by 
Austen  Henry  Layard,  M.P.     Seventy-one  plates.     London,  1853. 


EXCAVATIONS,  1843-1854.  159 

vious  books  had  made  him  famous,  while  the  new 
discoveries  would  be  certain  to  add  much  to  his 
permutation.  This  secui'ed  for  him  honored  diplo- 
matic posts,  notably  at  Constantinople,  where  he 
was  able  to  serve  Assyrian  study  by  dealing  w-iih 
the  Turkish  government  in  the  interest  of  explor- 
ei's,  as  he  had  once  served  it  by  his  own  labors. 

Layard's  two  expeditions  to  Assyria  had  been 
fruitful  indeed  beyond  those  of  Botta,  and  their 
influence  lived  far  beyond  even  Layard's  own  life. 
His  books  had,  as  we  have  already  seen,  touched 
the  popular  heart  in  many  points,  and,  though  he 
laid  the  work  down  to  take  up  diplomatic  service, 
in  which  he  appears  not  to  have  been  so  happ}', 
others  were  found  to  continue  it. 

Even  while  Layard  was  still  at  work  in  Nine- 
veh the  French  government  sent  Victor  Place,  an 
architect  of  great  skill,  to  hold  the  post  of  consular 
agent  at  Mosul  and  continue  Botta's  work.  He 
had  not  accomplished  much  when  Layard's  work 
ended,  but  remained  and  made  important  discov- 
eries in  the  department  of  Assyrian  art,  cooperat- 
ing afterward  with  a  French  expedition,  to  which 
attention  must  later  be  paid. 

Meanwhile  in  Eno-land  interest  in  the  whole 
of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  grew  apace,  manifest- 
ing itself  in  many  ways.  The  government  had 
been  moved  to  assist  Layard's  investigations,  and 
it  now  joined  in  the  work  in  still  another  way. 
For  a  long  time  the  frontier  between  Turkey  and 
Persia  had  been  a  bone  of  contention,  each  land 


160     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

gaining  or  losing  as  the  fortune  of  war  might  be, 
while  predatory  bands  belonging  neither  to  the 
one  nor  the  other  made  re}3risals  upon  both.  In 
1839  and  1840  war  almost  ensued  between  the 
two  nations,  whereupon  England  and  Kussia  inter- 
vened, and  a  commission  was  appointed  to  sit  at 
Erzerum  to  conduct  negotiations  for  a  peaceful 
settlement  of  difficulties.  This  commission,  after  a 
session  lasting  four  years,  agreed  upon  a  treaty, 
the  basis  of  which  lay  in  a  survey  of  the  doubtful 
territory  between  the  two  states,  and  a  proper  de- 
limitation of  the  border.  This  work  was  carried 
on  by  representatives  of  England,  Kussia,  Turkey, 
and  Persia.  The  most  prominent  of  these  was 
Colonel  ^Y,  F.  AVilliams.  In  January,  1849,  Mr. 
William  Kennett  Loftus  was  sent  out  from  Eng- 
land to  serve  as  geologist  upon  his  staff.  Loftus 
found  time  amid  other  duties  to  visit  large  num- 
bers of  mounds  in  Babylonia,  and  the  very  sight 
of  them  filled  him  with  enthusiasm.  Of  one,  the 
mound  of  Hammam,  he  says : 

"  I  know  of  nothing  more  exciting  or  impressive 
than  the  first  sight  of  one  of  these  great  Chaldean 
piles  looming  in  solitary  grandeur  from  the  sur- 
rounding plains  and  marshes.  A  thousand  thoughts 
and  surmises  concerning  its  past  eventful  history 
and  origin — its  gradual  rise  and  rapid  fall — natur- 
ally present  themselves  to  the  mind  of  the  spec- 
tator. The  hazy  atmosphere  of  early  morning 
is  peculiarly  favorable  to  considerations  and  im- 
pressions of  this  character,  and  the  gray  mist  in- 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  161 

tervening  between  the  gazer  and  the  object  of 
his  reflections  imparts  to  it  a  dreamy  existence. 
This  fairylike  effect  is  further  heightened  by  mi- 
rage, which  strangely  and  fantastically  magnifies 
its  form,  elevating  it  from  the  ground,  and  caus- 
ing it  to  dance  and  quiver  in  the  rarefied  air.  No 
wonder,  therefore,  that  the  beholder  is  lost  in 
pleasing  doubt  as  to  the  actual  reality  of  the 
apparition  before  him."  ' 

In  the  spring  of  1850  Loftus  carried  on  small 
excavations  at  Warka,  the  ancient  city  of  Erech, 
but,  though  many  interesting  antiquities  Avere 
found,  they  were  not  to  be  compared  with  the  re- 
sults of  Layard's  work.  This  was  due  in  chief 
measure  to  the  exceedingly  meager  means  at  the 
disposal  of  Loftus,  and  further  to  the  great  diffi- 
culties of  excavating  in  Babylonia.  Upon  this 
first  expedition  Loftus  rendered  distinguished 
services  by  his  long,  and  often  dangerous,  travels 
over  southern  Babylonia.  Upon  these  trips  he 
visited  Niffer,  Mukayyar  (Mugheir),  and  a  number 
of  lesser  sites,  most  of  which  had  never  before 
been  visited  by  Europeans.  These  he  carefully 
described,  and  minutely  located,  rendering  thereby 
access  easy  for  others.  Even  to  this  present  some 
of  Loftus's  work  remains  useful.  He  had  also  a 
keen  eye  for  the  peculiarities  of  mounds,  and  ex- 
pressed a  longing  to  dig  in  some  spots  which  have 
since  proved  exceedingly  productive.     An  oppor- 

'  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldcea  and  Susiana,  by  William  Kennett 
Loftus,  RG.S.    London,  1857. 


162     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

tunity  to  do  some  of  the  work  lie  had  planned  was 
soon  to  come  to  him  thi'ough  private  enterprise  in 
England. 

While  travelers  and  explorers  were  busy  among 
almost  savage  peoples  English  interest  in  the 
mounds  continued,  and  finally  eventuated  in  the 
organization  of  an  Assyrian  Excavation  Fund, 
which  undertook  to  gather  popular  subscriptions 
and  to  dii'ect  excavations  in  Assyria  and  Babylonia 
with  the  means  thus  acquired.  At  this  time  Sii' 
Henry  C.  Rawlinson  was  British  resident  and  con- 
sul general  at  Baghdad,  and  to  him  was  intrusted 
the  general  oversight  of  such  excavations  as  might 
be  planned  and  carried  on.  This  direction  could 
hardly  have  been  placed  in  better  hands.  His  ex- 
tensive travels,  and  long  residence  in  the  East 
and  his  remarkable  attainments  in  the  decipher- 
ment of  ancient  Persian  had  fitted  him  in  the 
fullest  degree  to  take  charge  of  efforts  intended 
to  make  the  buried  records  of  the  great  valley 
accessible  to  the  world. 

Loftus  was  sent  by  the  fund  to  conduct  exca- 
vations and  caiTy  on  explorations  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  country.  His  work  was  successful  in 
bringing  to  London  considerable  numbei's  of  in- 
scribed tablets,  with  many  vases,  and  a  considera- 
ble mass  of  mortuary  remains.  It  attracted,  how- 
ever, little  popular  attention,  not  that  it  was 
unimportant,  though  less  in  amount  than  Layard's, 
but  chiefly  because  Loftus  did  not  possess  Layard's 
popular  gifts,  and  was  unable  to  set  forth  his  dis- 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  163 

coveries  in  such  attractive  fashion.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  notes  which  Rawlinson  sent  home, 
he  would  have  remained  almost  unknown. 

Rawlinson's  next  move  was  to  send  J.  E.  Tay- 
lor, British  vice  consul  at  Bassorah,  to  Mugheir, 
probably  the  ancient  Babylonian  city  of  Ur.* 
Taylor  dug  straight  into  the  center  of  the  mound, 
finding  almost  nothing  as  a  reward  for  his  pains. 
It  was  rather  at  the  southwestern  corner  that  his 
great  discovery  was  to  be  made.  Of  it  he  has 
this  story  to  tell : 

*'  I  began  excavating  the  southwest  corner,  clear 
ing  away  large  masses  of  rubbish  formed  of  the 
remains  of  burnt,  mingled  with  sun-dried,  bricks. 
I  worked  along  at  a  depth  of  10  feet  and  a  breadth 
of  6  without  finding  anything.  I  then  returned, 
and  worked  a  few  feet  north  along  the  brick  cas- 
ing of  the  western  wall;  here,  6  feet  below  the 
surface,  I  found  a  perfect  inscribed  cylinder.  This 
relic  was  in  the  solid  masonry ;  it  had  been  placed 
in  a  niche  formed  by  the  omission  of  one  of  the 
bricks  in  the  layer,  and  was  found  standing  on 
one  end.  I  excavated  some  little  distance  further 
without  any  success,  and  then  relinquished  this 
corner  for  the  northwest  one.  Here,  also,  I  found 
a  second  cylinder  similar  to  the  one  above  men- 
tioned, but  at  12  feet  from  the  surface.  At  this 
corner  I  sank  a  shaft  21  feet  deep  by  12  broad. 
The  sun-dried  bricks,  composing  this  solid  mass 
within  were  here  of  an  amazing  thickness ;  their 

'  See  infra,  p.  290. 


164     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

size  was  16  inches  square  and  7  inches  thick.  Just 
below  the  cylinder  were  two  rough  logs  of  wood,, 
apparently  teak,  which  ran  across  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  shaft.  .  .  . 

"  Having  thus  found  two  cylinders  in  the  solid 
masonry  in  two  corners,  I  naturally  concluded 
the  same  objects  would  be  found  in  the  two  cor- 
ners still  remaining.  I  sank  a  shaft  in  each,  and 
found  two  other  cylinders  precisely  in  the  same 
position,  and  in  the  same  kind  of  structure,  one  at 
6  and  the  other  at  2  feet  from  the  surface.  This 
is  easily  accounted  for  w^hen  looking  at  the  ir- 
regular surface  of  the  ruin,  which,  at  the  south- 
east corner  and  south  side  generally,  has  been 
subject  to  greater  ravages  from  rain  than  the 
other  sides,  owing  to  the  greater  depression  of  the 
surface  toward  these  points." ' 

Taylor  also  conducted  excavations  at  Abu 
Sharein  and  Tel-el-Lahm,  but  without  important 
results.'' 

At  this  time  expeditions  were  so  numerous  and 
the  work  of  different  men  in  various  places  so 
constantly  in  progress  that  it  is  impossible  to  fol- 
low them  in  detail  and  almost  impossible  to  ar- 
I'ange  them  in  chronological  order. 

While  yet  Loftus  was  still  at  work  and  Taylor 
had  not  even  begun  his  labors  the  French  govern- 
ment was  taking  steps  to  resume  excavations  upon 

'  "  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,"  by  J.  E.  Taylor,  Esq.,  Journal  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xv,  p.  263,  264. 
2  Ibid.,  pp.  404,  ff. 


EXCAVATIONS,    1843-1854.  165 

a  laroje  scale.  It  was  the  indefati^cable  Mohl  who 
kept  governmeut  and  people  in  France  ever  in- 
cited to  good  works  in  this  matter.  At  last  he 
moved  M.  Leon  Fancher,  the  minister  of  the  in- 
terior, to  ask  the  assembly  for  a  credit  of  70,000 
francs,  and  on  October  9,  1851,  an  expedition  set 
out  from  Marseilles  for  Hill  ah,  which  was  reached 
July  7,  1852.  The  members  of  this  expedition 
were  MM.  Fulgence  Fresnel,  formerly  consul  at 
Jeddah,  Jules  Oppert,  professor  of  German  at  the 
Lycee,  Keims,  and  F.  Thomas,  an  architect. 

Oppert  had  already  done  important  work  upon 
old  Persian  and  was  a  trained  orientalist.  He 
made  important  reseai'ches  at  Babylon  and  visited 
a  large  number  of  mounds,  some  of  which  Loftus 
had  already  seen.  This  expedition  excavated  at 
Birs  Nimroud  and  found  rich  treasures  of  art  and 
of  inscriptions.  At  the  same  time  Place  was  con- 
tinuing excavations  at  Khorsabad.  The  materials 
found  both  by  Place  and  by  the  expedition  at 
Birs  Kimroud  were  loaded  on  rafts  to  be  floated 
down  the  river  to  Bassorah.  Unhappily,  and  as 
it  is  stated  by  "  sheer  carelessness  and  mismanage- 
ment," the  rafts  were  overturned  and  the  whole 
collection  was  lost  in  the  river.'  Though  this  sore 
mishap  had  occurred,  Oppert  brought  back  to 
Europe  much  fresh  knowledge,  and  the  published 
results  of  the  expedition  were  notable.* 

•  Journal  of  Sacred  Literature,  iii,  p.  471  (July,  1856). 
'^Expedition   Scieiitijique    en   Mesopotamie,    par   Jules    Oppert.     2  vols. 
Paris,  1863-1 867. 


166     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

In  the  same  year  tliat  the  French  expedition, 
which  ended  so  unhappily,  was  being  planned  the 
trustees  of  the  British  Museum  secured  a  grant 
from  Parliament  to  begin  anew  the  work  at  Nine- 
veh. Layard  was  now  absorbed  in  the  diplomatic 
service,  and  would  not  go  out  to  take  up  the  work 
again.  His  former  assistant  was,however,  now  study- 
ing at  Oxford,  and  to  him  the  authorities  appealed. 
To  his  lasting  honor  Mr.  Hormuzd  Rassam  accepted 
the  post,  and  set  out  at  the  end  of  1852  to  begin 
excavations  at  Kuyunjik,  under  the  general  direc- 
tion of  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson.  Rassam  was  fitted 
for  the  work  of  excavator  as  few  who  had  ever 
dug  in  these  mounds.  He  knew  land  and  people 
from  his  birth  up ;  he  had  served  a  long  and  use- 
ful apprenticeship  to  Layard ;  he  was  devoted  to 
the  business  he  had  in  hand,  and  eager  to  give 
every  energy  to  its  successful  accomplishment.  In 
one  respect  he  was  unfortunately  not  so  well 
equipped  as  the  brilliant  Oppert,  who  was  now 
busy  among  the  mounds  of  Babylon.  Oppert 
knew  all  that  was  then  known  of  the  cuneiform 
writing,  while  Rassam  knew  nothing  of  the  lan- 
guage in  which  the  ancient  records  of  his  country 
were  written. 

When  he  reached  Mosul  he  found  that  Sir 
Henry  Rawlinson  had  drawn  a  line  across  the 
mound  at  Kuyunjik,  assigning  the  northern  half 
of  the  mound  to  the  French  and  retaining  the  re- 
mainder for  the  "  English  sphere  of  influence." 
Place  had,  however,  not  yet  dug   at  all  in    this 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  167 

mound,  but  was  busy  witli  the  continuing  of  ex- 
cavations at  Khorsabad.  Kassam  was  endowed 
beyond  Place  in  a  feeling  for  arcli:i3ological  inves- 
tigations, and  believed  that  the  northern  part  of 
the  mound  was  by  far  the  most  promising.  From 
the  very  beginning  he  desired  most  to  try  exca- 
vations there,  but  felt  himself  prevented  by  the 
ari'angement  which  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  had 
made.  He  concealed  from  Place  his  feelins^s  and 
went  sturdily  to  work  upon  other  parts  of  the 
mound.  For  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  his  work 
continued,  and  from  his  trenches  and  wells  there 
were  constantly  brought  out  inscribed  records  of 
the  past,  now  fragments  of  tablets,  now  obelisks, 
now  clay  cylinders,  and  now  beautifully  preserved 
tablets,  with  the  fine,  neat  writing  of  the  ancient 
Assyrians.  During  all  this  time  M.  Place  made 
no  move  toward  even  the  beginnings  of  excava- 
tion at  Kuyunjik,  and  Rassam  finally  concluded 
that,  after  all,  Sir  Henry  Kawlinson  had  exceeded 
his  authority  in  setting  off  a  part  of  the  mound 
to  the  French,  and  therefore  determined,  "come 
w^hat  might,"  to  move  over  to  the  top  of  the 
mound  and  see  what  might  be  found.  His  first 
essays  were  to  be  made  at  night  so  as  to  prevent 
any  possible  interference  by  Place  if  it  should  be 
attempted.  The  story  is  romantic,  and  Rassam's 
own  laconic  sentences  best  describe  it : 

"  After  having  waited  a  few  days  for  a  bright 
moonlight  night,'  I  selected  a  number  of  my  old 

'  December  20,  18.5:!. 


168     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

and  faithful  Arab  workmen  who  could  be  de- 
pended on  for  secrecy,  with  a  trustworthy  over- 
seer, and  gave  them  orders  to  assemble  at  a  cer- 
tain spot  on  the  mound  about  two  hours  after 
sunset.  When  everything  was  ready  I  went  and 
marked  them  three  different  spots  on  which  to 
dig.  There  had  been  already  a  number  of  trenches 
dug  there  on  a  former  occasion,  but  at  this  time  I 
directed  the  workmen  to  dig  across  them  and  go 
deeper  down ;  and  having  superintended  the  work 
myself  till  midnight,  I  left  them  at  work  (after 
telling  them  to  stop  work  at  dawn)  and  went  to 
bed. 

"The  next  morning  I  examined  the  trenches, 
and  on  seeing  some  good  signs  of  Assyrian  re- 
mains I  doubled  the  number  of  workmen  the  sec- 
ond night  and  made  them  work  hard  all  night. 
As  usual,  I  superintended  the  work  till  mid- 
night, and  then  went  to  bed,  but  had  not  been 
asleep  two  hours  before  my  faithful  Albanian  over- 
seer came  running  to  give  me  the  good  tidings  of 
the  discovery  of  some  broken  sculptures.  I  hur- 
ried immediately  to  the  spot,  and  on  descending 
one  of  the  trenches  I  could  just  see  in  the  moon- 
light the  lower  part  of  two  bas-reliefs,  the  upper 
portion  having  been  destroyed  by  the  Sassanians 
or  other  barbarous  nations  who  occupied  the 
mound  after  the  destruction  of  the  Assyrian  em- 
pire. I  could  only  find  out  this  from  experience, 
by  examining  the  foundation  and  the  brick  wall 
which  supported  the  bas-reliefs ;  so  I  directed  the 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1834.  169 

workmen  to  clear  the  lower  part  of  the  sculptures, 
which  clearly  showed  that  the  slabs  belonged  to 
a  new  palace;  but  on  digging  around  them  we 
came  upon  bones,  ashes,  and  other  rubbish,  and  no 
trace  whatever  was  left  of  any  other  sculptures. 
On  the  third  day  the  fact  of  my  digging  at  night 
oozed  out  in  the  town  of  Mosul,  which  did  not 
surprise  me,  seeing  that  all  the  families  of  the 
workmen  who  w^ere  employed  in  the  nocturnal 
work  knew  that  they  were  digging  clandestinely 
somewhere ;  and,  moreover,  the  workmen  who  were 
not  employed  at  night  must  have  seen  their  fellow- 
laborers  leaving  their  tents  and  not  coming  to 
work  the  next  day.  Not  only  did  I  fear  the 
French  consul  hearing  and  coming  to  prevent  me 
from  digging  in  what  he  would  call  his  own 
ground,  but,  worse  than  all,  that  it  should  be 
thought  I  was  digging  for  treasure  by  the  Turkish 
authorities  and  the  people  of  Mosul,  who  had 
always  imagined  that  we  were  enriching  ourselves 
by  the  discovery  of  fabulous  treasures;  conse- 
quently, on  the  third  night,  I  increased  the  work- 
men, and  resolved  to  remain  in  the  trenches  till 
the  morning,  superintending  the  work.  It  can  be 
well  imagined  how  I  longed  for  the  close  of  the 
day,  as  there  was  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  some 
Assp'ian  structure  was  in  existence  near  those 
broken  slabs  which  had  been  found  the  night  be- 
fore. I  was  not  disappointed  in  my  surmises,  for 
the  men  had  not  been  at  work  three  houi*s  on  the 
third  night  before  a  bank  under  which  they  were 


170     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

digging  fell  and  exposed  a  most  perfect  and  beauti- 
ful bas-relief,  on  which  was  represented  an  Assyrian 
king  (which  proved  afterward  to  be  Assurbanipal 
or  Sardanapalus)  in  his  chariot  hunting  hons. 
The  delight  of  the  workmen  was  past  all  bounds ; 
they  all  collected  and  began  to  dance  and  sing 
from  their  inmost  heart,  and  no  entreaty  or  threat 
of  mine  had  any  effect  upon  them.  Indeed,  I  did 
not  know  which  was  most  pleasing,  the  discovery 
of  this  new  palace  or  to  witness  the  joy  of  my 
faithful  and  grateful  workmen.  We  kept  on 
working  till  morning,  and  seeing  that  by  this  time 
three  perfect  sculptures  had  been  uncovered,  I 
had  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  this  was  quite  a 
new  palace.  The  night  workmen  were  changed, 
and  new  hands  put  to  work  in  the  daytime,  as  I  had 
now  no  more  fear  of  being  thwarted  by  my  rivals, 
because,  according  to  all  rules,  I  had  secured  this 
palace  for  the  British  nation.  During  the  day  we 
cleared  out  all  the  lion-hunt  room  of  Assurbani- 
pal, which  is  now  in  the  basement  room  of  the 
British  Museum.  In  the  center  of  this  long  room 
or  passage  there  were  heaps  of  inscribed  terra 
cottas,  among  which  I  believe  was  discovered  the 
famous  Deluge  Tablet.  Undoubtedly  this  was  the 
record  chamber  of  Assurbanipal."  ' 

The  discovery  thus  made  was  the  greatest  which 
had  yet  been  made  either  in  Assyria  or  Babylonia. 

'  Excavations  and  Discoveries  in  Assyria,  by  Hormuzd  Kassam,  Transac- 
tions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archceology,  vii,  pp.  39-41.  Rassam  has 
told  the  story  again  in  Asshur  and  the  Land  of  Nimrod  (New  York,  1897), 
pp.  24,  ff. 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  171 

Rassam,  by  the  exercise  of  a  skilled  judgment  and 
tlie  fortunate  combination  of  circumstances,  had 
actually  uncovered  the  long-buried  library  of  the 
royal  city  of  Nineveh — the  library  which  Assur- 
banipal  had  gathered  or  caused  to  be  copied  for 
the  learning  of  his  sages.  Here  was  a  royal  store- 
house of  literature,  science,  history,  and  religion 
brought  to  light,  ready  to  be  studied  in  the  West, 
when  the  method  of  its  reading  was  fully  made 
out.  Well  might  Rawlinson  join  with  Layard  in 
applause  over  this  happy  and  fortunate  discovery, 
which  had  linked  Rassam's  name  forever  with  the 
history  of  Assyrian  research. 

In  March,  1854,  Rassam  returned  to  England, 
and  Loftus,  who  had  finished  his  researches  in  the 
south,  was  sent  to  Kuyunjik  to  complete  Rassam's 
Avork.  This  task  he  fulfilled  vdth  complete  suc- 
cess, recovering  many  more  tablets,  to  be  sent,  as 
Rassam's  were,  to  the  British  Museum. 

While  these  works  were  in  progress  the  East 
India  Company  again  took  part,  in  a  most  valuable 
manner,  in  the  work  of  Assyrian  study.  On  the 
request  of  the  trustees  of  the  British  Museum 
the  company  dispatched  Commander  Felix  Jones, 
assisted  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Hyslop,  from  Baghdad  to 
Mosul  to  survey  the  whole  Nineveh  district.  This 
was  accomplished  in  a  masterly  fashion  during  the 
month  of  March,  1862,  and  three  great  maps  were 
published,  which  remain  the  standard  records  un- 
til to-day.* 

'  "  Topography  of  Nineveh,"  illustrative  of  the  maps  of  the  chief  cities  of 


173     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

And  now  the  long  and  brilliant  series  of  excava- 
tions was  drawing  near  to  another  period  of  rest. 
But  at  the  very  end  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  was  the 
author  of  a  remarkable  discovery.  During  the 
months  of  August  and  September,  1854,  he  had 
placed  "an  intelligent  young  man,  M.  Joseph  Tonetti 
by  name,"  in  charge  of  excavations  at  Birs  Nimroud, 
where  the  ill-fated  French  expedition  had  carried  on 
its  work.  For  two  months  the  work  was  not  very 
successful,  and  then  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  visited  the 
works  in  person,  and  after  some  examination  deter- 
mined to  break  into  the  walls  at  the  corners,  in  the 
hope  of  finding  commemorative  cylinders,  such  as 
Taylor  had  found  at  Mugheir.  He  first  directed 
the  removal  of  bricks  down  to  the  tenth  layer 
above  the  plinth  at  the  base,  and  while  this  was 
being  done  busied  himself  elsewhere.  When  this 
had  been  finished  he  was  summoned  back,  and 
thus  describes  the  happy  fortune  which  ensued: 

"  On  reaching  the  spot  I  was  first  occupied  for 
a  few  minutes  in  adjusting  a  prismatic  compass  on 
the  lowest  brick  now  remaining  of  the  original 
angle,  which  fortunately  projected  a  little,  so  as  to 
afford  a  good  point  for  obtaining  the  exact  mag- 
netic bearing  of  the  two  sides,  and  I  then  ordered 
the  work  to  be  resumed.  No  sooner  had  the  next 
layer  of  bricks  been  removed  than  the  workmen 
called  out  there  was   a    Khazeneh^    or   'treasui'e 

Assyria ;  and  the  general  geography  of  the  country  intermediate  between 
the  Tigris  and  the  upper  Tab,  by  Felix  Jones,  Commander  Indian  Navy, 
and  Surveyor  in  Mesopotamia.  [With  three  large  folded  maps.]  Journal 
of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xv,  pp.  297,  ff. 


EXCAVATIONS,   1843-1854.  173 

hole ' — that  is,  in  the  corner  at  the  distance  of  two 
bricks  from  the  exterior  surface  there  was  a  va- 
cant space  filled  up  with  loose  reddish  sand. 
'  Clear  away  the  sand,'  I  said,  '  and  bring  out  the 
cylinder;'  and  as  I  spoke  the  words  the  Arab, 
groping  with  his  hand  among  the  debris  in  the 
hole,  seized  and  held  up  in  triumph  a  fine  cylin- 
der of  baked  clay,  in  as  perfect  a  condition  as 
when  it  was  deposited  in  the  artificial  cavity 
above  twenty-four  centuries  ago.  The  workmen 
were  perfectly  bewildered.  They  could  be  heard 
whispering  to  each  other  that  it  was  sihr,  or 
*  magic,'  while  the  graybeard  of  the  party  signifi- 
cantly observed  to  his  companion  that  the  com- 
pa-sSy  which,  as  I  have  mentioned,  I  had  just  be- 
fore been  using,  and  had  accidentally  placed  imme- 
diately above  the  cylinder,  was  certainly  '  a  won- 
derful instrument.' " ' 

The  cylinder  thus  recovered  was  one  of  four 
originally  set  in  four  comers  of  the  building,  and 
a  little  later  a  second  was  found.  The  remaining 
two  were  not  recovered,  as  the  corners  in  which 
they  had  presumably  been  placed  had  long  before 
been  broken  down.  Nebuchadrezzar  had  taken 
great  pains  to  preserve  the  records  of  his  great 
works  of  building  and  restoration. 

And  now  the  long  series  of  excavations  was 
ended.     Men  of  learning  in   the    history  of  the 

'  "On  the  Birs  Nimroud;  or,  The  Great  Temple  of  Borsippa,"  by  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson,  K.C.B.,  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xviii  (1860), 
pp.  2,  ff.     [This  paper  was  read  January  13, 1855.] 


174     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

ancient  Orient  had  been  overwhelmed  by  the  mass 
no  less  than  by  the  startling  character  of  the 
great  discoveries.  The  spade  and  the  pick  might 
now  be  suffered  to  lie  idle  and  rust  for  several 
years.  There  was  great  work  to  do  in  the  reading 
of  these  long-lost  books.  Europe  waited  for  the 
results  before  beginning  new  excavations. 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  175 


CHAPTER  yi. 

THE   DECIPHERMENT    OF    ASSYRIAN. 

When  the  masters  of  decipherment,  Grotefend, 
Rawlinson,  and  Hincks,  had  brought  to  happy 
conclusion  the  reading  of  the  ancient  Persian  in- 
scriptions which  had  been  copied  at  Persepohs, 
Behistun,  and  other  less  important  sites,  they 
were  still  confronted  by  a  great  series  of  prob- 
lems. 

Many  of  these  inscriptions  were  threefold  in 
form,  and,  as  has  already  been  shown,  it  was  now 
generally  believed  that  they  represented  three 
separate  languages.  The  first  was  now  read,  and 
it  was  ancient  Persian.  The  second  called  for  at- 
tempts at  its  decipherment.  None  knew  what 
people  these  were  whose  language  appeared  side 
by  side  with  ancient  Persian,  and  opinion  now 
called  them  Scythians,  and  now  Medes.  But  what- 
ever their  language  might  be  named,  some  one 
must  essay  its  decipherment.  In  reality  a  number 
of  men  in  different  places  were  at  work  simulta- 
neously upon  the  fascinating  problem.  It  was  to 
be  expected  that  Grotefend  would  attempt  the  task, 
and  this  he  did,  but,  unfortunately,  without  com- 
plete success.  He  was,  indeed,  hardly  fitted  by 
his  training  for  work  of  this  kind.  The  great 
achievement  of  really  beginning  this  decipherment 


176      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

was  reserved  for  Niels  Louis  Westergaard,  whose 
very  first  paper '  laid  the  foundations  for  the  suc- 
cessful reading  of  the  second  class  of  Persepolitan 
writing.  His  method  was  very  similar  to  that 
used  by  Grotefend  in  the  decipherment  of  Persian. 
He  selected  the  names  for  Darius,  for  Hystaspes, 
for  the  Persians,  and  for  other  nationalities,  and 
compared  them  with  their  equivalents  in  the  Per- 
sian texts.  By  this  means  he  learned  a  number 
of  the  signs  and  sought  by  their  use  in  other 
words  to  spell  out  syllables  or  words,  whose 
meanings  were  then  ascertained  by  conjecture  and 
by  comparison.  He  estimated  the  number  of 
separate  characters  at  eighty-two  or  eighty-seven, 
and  judged  the  writing  to  be  partly  alphabetical 
and  partly  syllabic.  The  language  he  called  Median, 
and  classified  it  in  the  "  Scythian,"  rather  than  the 
"Japhetic,"  family.  But  Westergaard's  results 
were  tentative  at  the  best,  and  needed  the  severe 
criticism  of  another  mind.  These  they  obtained 
in  two  papers  by  Dr.  Hincks,  read  before  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy.*  Hincks  clearly  advanced 
upon  Westergaard,  and  again,  as  before,  showed 
himself  a  master  of  all  the  processes  of  cuneiform 
decipherment. 

After  Westergaard  and  Hincks  the  work  was 

^ "  Zur  Entzifferung  der  Achamenidischen  Keilschrift  zweiter  Gattung," 
von  N.  L.  Westergaard,  Zeitschrift  fur  die  Kunde  des  Morgenlandes,  vi, 
pp.  337,  ff. 

'On  the  first  and  second  kinds  of  Persepolitan  writing,  by  the  Rev. 
Edward  Hincks,  D.D.,  Transactio?is  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy^  xxi,  114,  ff. 
On  the  three  kinds  of  Persepolitan  writing,  and  on  the  Babylonian  lapi- 
dary characters,  ibid.,  pp.  233-248. 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  177 

taken  up  by  a  French  scholar,  F.  de  Saulcy,  who 
was  able  to  see  farther  than  either.  De  Saulcy 
looked  back  upon  the  decipherment  of  ancient 
Persian  and  compared  the  signs  of  the  Median 
language,  for  so  he  also  named  this  second  lan- 
guage. He  observed  that  they  were  similar,  then 
he  looked  ahead  and  saw  that  they  appeared 
almost  identical  with  the  characters  in  the  third 
language,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  Assyi'tan. 
De  Saulcy  was  not  the  fii'st  to  give  this  title  to 
the  third  form  of  writing  found  at  Persepolis — 
that  designation  was  now  becoming  common — but 
he  was  the  first  to  point  out  the  remarkable  re- 
semblance between  the  signs  or  characters  in  the 
second  and  third  groups  of  the  texts.  It  was  now 
clearer  than  ever  that  if  the  second  language, 
whatever  it  was,  whether  Median  or  Scythian, 
could  be  deciphered,  the  way  would  be  open  to 
the  reading  of  Assyrian.  To  this  great  end  de 
Saulcy  contributed  by  his  increased  success  in  the 
study  of  Median. 

All  three,  Westergaard,  Hincks,  and  de  Saulcy, 
had  done  their  work  with  very  defective  materials. 
It  was  very  improbable  that  the  study  of  the 
Median  or  Scythian  would  get  beyond  de  Saulcy's 
attempts  without  the  publication  of  fresh  material. 
This  was  soon  forthcoming,  through  the  generosity 
of  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson.  At  great  personal  cost 
of  money,  time,  and  dangerous  labor  he  had  com- 
pleted the  copy  of  the  inscription  at  Behistun. 
The  first  column  was  in   ancient  Persian,  and  in 


178     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

tte  decipherment  of  this  he  had  won  imperishable 
fame.  The  second  column  he  had  not  time  to 
publish  at  once  himself,  and  therefore  gave  it  over 
to  Mr.  Edwin  Nonis,  with  full  permission  to  use 
it  as  he  wished.  Norris,  leaning  in  the  beginning 
strongly  upon  Westergaard,  succeeded  in  decipher- 
ing almost  all  of  it.  His  paper,  read  before  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society  of  London  on  July  3, 1852/ 
was  almost  epoch-making  in  the  history  of  the 
study,  and  it  was  long  before  it  was  superseded. 

The  work  of  Noms  drew  Westergaard"  once 
more  into  the  arena  with  criticism,  with  fresh  con- 
jectures, and  with  several  marked  improvements. 
Mordtmann'  followed  him  in  a  paper  too  little 
leaning  upon  the  work  of  predecessors,  and  there- 
fore containing  useless  combinations  and  repetitions, 
but,  nevertheless,  making  a  few  gains  upon  the 
problems.  He  named  the  language  Susian — and 
the    name   was    happily   chosen.     A.    H.  Sayce* 

•  "Memoir  on  the  Scythic  Version  of  the  Behistun  Inscription,"  by  Mr. 
E.  Norris,  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xv,  pp.  1-213;  addenda, 
pp.  431-433. 

^  Westergaard,  Om  den  anden  eller  den  sakiske  Art  af  Akhaemenidernes 
Kileskrift,  in  '■'■  Det  kongelike  Danske  Vedenskahernes  Selskabs  Skrifter." 
Femte  Raekke ;  Historisk  og  philosophisk  Af  deling ;  Andet  Binds,  f  orste 
Hefte,  pp.  39-1 78.     Kjobenhavn,  1856. 

3"Erklarung  der  Keilinschriften  zweiter  Gattung,"  von  A.  D.  Mordt- 
mann,  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenliindischen  Gesellschaft,  xv,  pp. 
1-126.  "Ueber  die  Keilinschriften  zweiter  Gattung,"  ibid.,  xxiv,  pp. 
1-84. 

■'"The  Languages  of  the  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Elam  and  Media," 
by  A.  H.  Sayce,  Transactio7is  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  ArchcBology,  iii,  pp. 
465-485.  "  The  Inscriptions  of  Mai-Amir  and  the  Language  of  the  Second 
Column  of  the  Akhaemenian  Inscriptions,"  by  A.  H.  Sayce,  Actes  du 
Vlieme  Congres  International  des  Orientalistes,  tenu  en  1883  a  Leide, 
2ieme  partie..  section  1 :  Semitique,  pp.  637-756. 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  179 

attacked  the  problem  next  in  two  brilliant  papers, 
the  first  of  which  even  went  so  far  as  to  present 
a  transcription  and  partial  translation  of  two  small 
inscriptions.  The  translation  was  necessarily  frag- 
mentary, but  none  of  the  former  workers  had 
equaled  it.  He  argued  learnedly  for  the  name 
Amardian  for  the  language,  and  returned  again  to 
this  matter  in  a  second  paper,  which  likewise  reg- 
istered progress  in  the  decipherment.  Oppert,' 
who  gave  most  of  his  great  skill  to  other  ques- 
tions, also  studied  these  texts  shortly  after  Sayce, 
and  made  contributions  of  importance  to  the 
problem.  The  problem  of  the  second  form  of 
writing  at  Pereepolis  and  at  Behistun  was  solved, 
and  in  1890  Weissbach'  was  able  to  gather  up  all 
the  loose  threads  and  present  clear  and  convinc- 
ing translations  of  the  long-puzzling  inscriptions. 

If  now  we  pause  for  a  moment  and  look  back, 
we  cannot  fail  to  be  moved  by  the  patience,  skill, 
and  learning  that  had  been  employed  in  the  un- 
raveling of  these  tangled  threads  of  ancient  writ- 
ing. It  was  a  long  and  a  hard  hill,  and  many  a 
weary  traveler  had  toiled  up  its  slope.  Persian 
and  Susian  at  last  were  read.  The  progress,  slow 
at  first,  had  at  last  become  very  rapid.  As  yet, 
however,  the  historical  results  had  been  compar- 
atively meager.  The  inscriptions  were  not  nu- 
merous, and   their  words    were    few.     But  how 

'  See  especially  Jules  Oppert,  Le  Peiqyle  et  la  Langne  des  Medes.  Paris, 
1879. 

*  F.  H.  Weissbach,  Die  Achdmemdeninschriften  Zweiter  Art.  Leipzig, 
1890. 


180     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

different  this  would  be  if  only  tlie  third  language 
could  be  deciphered.  That  third  language  at 
Persepolis  and  at  Behistun  was  undoubtedly  As- 
syrian or  Babylonian.  Here  in  Susian  and  in 
Persian  were  the  clews  for  its  deciphering.  If  it 
could  be  read,  men  would  have  before  them  all 
the  literatures  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia.  What 
that  meant  was  even  now  daily  becoming  more 
clear.  While  Norris  was  working  quietly  in 
England  Botta  and  Layard  were  unearthing  in- 
scriptions by  the  score  in  Assyria,  and  the  first 
fruits  of  Babylonian  discovery  were  likewise  find- 
ing their  way  to  Europe.  With  such  a  treasui'e- 
trove  it  was  not  surprising  that  men  almost  jostled 
each  other  in  their  passionate  eagerness  to  leam 
the  meanings  of  the  strange  complicated  signs 
which  stood  third  at  Persepolis  and  at  Behistun. 

Grotefend  had  picked  out  among  the  Assyrian 
transcripts  of  the  Persepolis  inscriptions  the  names 
of  the  kings,  just  as  he  had  in  the  old  Persian 
texts,  but  was  able  to  go  but  little  further.  More 
material  was  imperatively  necessaiy  before  much 
progress  could  possibly  be  made.  As  soon  as  the 
letters  from  Botta  to  Mohl  were  published  an- 
nouncing the  discoveries  at  Khorsabad  a  man  was 
found  who  plunged  boldly  into  the  attempt  at 
deciphering  Assyrian.  Isidore  de  Loewenstein 
made  his  chief  point  of  departure  in  a  comparison 
of  the  Assyrian  and  Egyptian  inscriptions  on  the 
Caylus  vase.  *     It  was  hardly  a  good  place  to  be- 

1  £!ssai  de  dechiffremeiit  de  VEvriture  Assyrienne  pour  servir  a  Vexplica- 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  181 

gin,  and  it  is  therefore  surprising  that  his  success 
was  so  great  as  it  really  was.  Loewenstein  made  the 
exceedingly  happy  stroke  of  suggesting  that  the 
Assyrian  language  belonged  to  the  Semitic  family 
of  speech,  and  was  therefore  sister  to  Hebrew, 
Arabic,  and  Aramaean.  *  This  suggestion  would 
alone  dignify  his  work,  for  it  became  exceedingly 
fruitful  in  the  hands  of  later  workers.  He  was, 
however,  not  very  successful  in  determining  the 
values  of  the  signs,  and  in  that  there  was  the 
greatest  need  for  success.  In  the  second  memoir ' 
Loewenstein  was  much  more  successful,  for  his 
point  of  departure  was  more  happily  chosen.  He 
now  chose  for  comparison  the  proper  names  of  Per- 
sians, '  which  were  transliterated  in  the  Assyrian 
texts.  With  such  comparisons  a  beginning  might 
well  be  made,  and  this  beginning  Loewenstein 
made  in  happy  fashion.  To  him,  however,  it  was 
not  given  to  read  an  Assyrian  text;  that  proved 
to  be  a  task  much  more  difficult  than  anyone  had 
imagined. 

But  workers  were  increasing  in  numbers,  and 
all  had  hope  that  at  last  the  way  out  to  the  light 
must  be  found. 

Of  all  these  none  was  gifted  with  such  marvel- 
ous skill  in  decipherment  as  Edward  Hincks.    He 

tion  du  Ifonument  de  Kkorsabad,  par  Isidore  Lowenstein.  Paris  and  Leip- 
zig, 1845. 

>  Ibid.,  pp.  12,  13. 

'  Expose  des  elemetits  constitutifs  du  si^steme  de  la  troisieme  ecriture  cunei- 
forme  de  Persepolis,  par  Isidore  Lowenstein.     Paris  and  Leipzig,  1847. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  10,  footnote  1,  where  a  complete  list  of  the  names  used  is 
siven. 


182     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

had  already  had  a  goodly  share  in  the  decipher- 
ment of  the  first  form  of  the  Persepolis  inscrip- 
tions, and,  as  we  have  just  seen,  his  work  upon 
the  second  was  exceedingly  important.  Both  these 
services  he  was  now  to  surpass,  and  apparently 
with  ease.  Upon  November  30,  and  again  upon 
December  14,  1846,  he  read  before  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy  two  papers,  afterward  printed 
as  one,'  in  which  he  plunged  boldly  into  the  de- 
cipherment of  the  Babylonian.  In  a  third  paper, 
read  on  January  11,  1847,"  he  modified  somewhat 
the  views  expressed  in  the  two  former  papers,  and 
advanced  a  step  farther.  In  the  preparation  of 
these  papers  it  seems  quite  clear  that  Hincks  had 
received  no  help  from  any  other  worker.  Loewen- 
stein's  first  paper  he  had  not  seen,  and  the  second 
paper  was  not  yet  published.  The  work  of 
Hincks  was  independent  in  every  way.  What  he 
accomplished  in  those  three  papers  it  would  be 
difficult  to  exaggerate.  A  number  of  Babylonian 
signs  were  definitely  determined  in  meaning,  and 
the  meanings  then  assigned  remain  the  standard 
to  this  day.  He  even  succeeded  at  this  time  in 
determining  coiTectly  a  large  part  of  the  numerals. 
He  was  on  the  clear  high  road  to  a  reading  of  the 
texts,  but  he  was  too  careful  to  venture  to  trans- 
late.    His  method,  even  under  the  pressure  of  the 

'  On  the  three  kinds  of  Persepolitan  writing,  and  on  the  Babylonian  lapi- 
dary characters.  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  xxi,  "  Polite 
Literature,"  pp.  233,  ff. 

*  On  the  third  Persepolitan  writing,  and  on  the  mode  of  expressing  numerals 
in  cuneatic  characters,  ibid.,  pp.  249,  ff. 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  183 

enthusiasm  that  must  have  tingled  in  his  veins,  re 
mained  rigidly  scientific. 

And  now  the  inscriptions  which  Botta  had  un 
earthed  at  Khorsabad  began  to  come  to  Paris 
From  the  heavy  wooden  cases  came  slabs  of  stone 
covered  with  dust,  but  bearing  strange  wedge 
shaped  characters.  Henri  Adrien  de  Longperier 
was  now  to  arrange  them  in  the  same  order  in  the 
Museum  of  the  Louvre.  He  could  not  do  this 
work  without  a  longing  to  read  these  unknown 
characters,  and  so,  like  others  elsewhere,  he  began 
to  ponder  over  the  hard  problem.  He  was  famil- 
iar with  Loewenstein's  work,  and  so  began  his  own 
efforts  standing  upon  Loewenstein's  shoulders.  It 
is  true  that  Loewenstein  could  not  give  him  much 
help  with  individual  signs,  but  he  had  at  least 
selected  a  group  of  signs,  after  comparison  with  old 
Persian,  which  he  believed  represented  the  word 
"  great,"  and  was  probably  to  be  pronounced  rahoii. 
Loewenstein  had  learned  this  from  the  Persepolis 
inscriptions.  Longperier  found  the  same  group  in 
the  inscriptions  from  Khorsabad.  He  assumed  its 
correctness  and  pushed  on  a  bit  further.  In  these 
texts  of  Botta  a  little  inscription  was  often  re- 
peated, and  after  long  comparison  A.  de  Longperier 
translated  the  whole  inscription  in  this  way : 

"  Glorious  is  Sargon,  the  great  king,  the  [ .  .  .  ] 
king,  king  of  kings,  king  of  the  land  of  Assyria." ' 

'  Journal  Asiatique,  x,  pp.  532,  ff.  Comp.  also  Revue  Archeologique, 
1847,  pp.  501,  ff.,  "  Lettre  a  M.  Isidore  Lowenstern  sur  les  inscriptions 
cuneiformes  de  I'Assyrie"  (20  Septembre,  1847). 


184     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

But  the  strange  thing  about  this  translation  was 
this,  that  he  could  not  name  or  pronounce  a  single 
word  in  it  all  except  the  one  word,  raboic  "  great." 
Yet  the  researches  that  were  to  follow  showed 
that  the  translation  was  almost  a  full  and  correct 
representation  of  the  original.  If  de  Longperier 
had  had  before  him  the  list  of  signs  and  meanings 
which  Hincks  had  already  proposed,  he  might  have 
gone  further.  As  it  was,  he  made  out  the  name 
of  Sargon,  and  there  paused.  When  one  looks 
back  upon  all  this  work  in  France,  England,  and 
Ireland,  and  sees  the  little  gain  here  and  another 
there,  he  cannot  but  think  that  the  slow  progress 
was  chiefly  due  to  lack  of  communication.  If,  by 
some  means,  each  worker  might  have  known  at 
once  the  move  of  his  friendly  rival,  the  progress 
must  inevitably  have  been  more  rapid.  It  is  in- 
deed true  that  the  men  who  worked  in  France 
managed  through  published  paper  or  letter  or 
society  meeting  to  keep  fairly  well  in  touch.  But 
the  much  more  brilliant  Irishman  beyond  two 
stormy  channels  found  no  way  of  learning  promptly 
what  they  were  thinking,  and,  still  worse,  was  not 
readily  able  to  make  known  his  work  to  them. 
So  much  was  this  latter  fact  painfully  true  that 
the  keen  Frenchmen  worked  steadily  on  without 
his  invaluable  aid.  This  lack  of  ready  communi- 
cation of  hypotheses  and  of  results  still  continues 
in  a  measure,  in  spite  of  all  improvements  in 
printing  and  in  dissemination  of  documents,  and 
appeal's  to  be  increased  rather  than  diminished  by 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  185 

the  vast  number  of  societies  and  of  journals  de- 
voted to  the  pursuit  of  science. 

Botta  was  now  back  again  in  Paris  and  was 
publishing  in  parts  a  memoir '  upon  the  language  of 
the  inscriptions  which  he  had  brought  back  to  the 
world.  He  made  but  little  effort  to  decipher 
or  to  translate,  but  he  collated  all  the  inscriptions 
which  he  had  found,  and  made  elaborate  lists  of 
the  signs  which  he  found  upon  them.  He  differ- 
entiated no  less  than  642  separate  signs — enough 
to  make  the  stoutest  heart  of  the  decipherers  quail. 
For  every  one  of  these  signs  a  value,  or  a  meaning, 
or  both,  must  be  found.  This  at  once  and  forever 
settled  all  dispute  about  an  alphabet.  If  there 
were  642  characters,  some  of  them  certainly  must 
represent  syllables.  But  how  could  there  possi- 
bly be  so  many  syllables  ?  Botta  looked  over  the 
Persepolis  inscriptions,  comparing  inscription  No.  1, 
that  is  Persian,  with  inscription  No.  3,  that  is 
Babylonian.  In  No.  1  he  sometimes  found  the 
name  of  a  country  represented  by  several  signs, 
whereas  in  No.  3,  in  the  proper  place,  he  found 
the  same  country  represented  by  only  one  sign. 
It  now  became  clear  that  this  Babylonian  lan- 
guage was  partly  at  least  written  in  ideograms. 
Here  was  another  added   difficulty,  for  even  if 

•  This  memoir  of  Botta  began  in  the  Journal  Asiatlgue,  Mai,  1847,  and 
continued  until  Mars,  1848.  It  was  published  entire  under  the  title  Me- 
moire  srir  Vecriture  mneiforme  Assyrienne,  par  M.  Botta,  Consul  de  France 
k  Mossul.  Paris,  1848.  For  a  rather  more  detailed  account  of  Botta'3 
method  in  this  investigation  see  Hommel,  Oeschichte,  pp.  94,  95,  and 
Kaulen,  Assyrien  und  Babylonien,  5te  Aufl.,  pp.  137,  138. 
14 


186     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA. 

one  should  learn  the  meaning  of  these  ideograms, 
how  would  it  ever  be  possible  to  learn  the  word 
itself,  or,  to  speak  loosely  for  the  moment,  its 
pronunciation?  That  was  a  problem,  surely,  and 
the  means  for  its  solution  did  not  appear  at  that 
time,  nor  for  many  days.  Botta's  work  went  on, 
however,  without  this  most  desirable  knowledge, 
and  he  finally  picked  out  the  words  for  king, 
land,  people,  and  a  few  others  of  less  importance, 
but  still  could  not  spell  the  words  out  in  Roman 
characters.  He  could  set  down  a  sign  and 
say,  "There,  that  means  ^land^  but  I  absolutely 
do  not  know  how  the  Assyrians  read  it."  With 
knowledge  so  defective  as  this  Botta  naturally  did 
not  attempt  any  complete  translations.  He  had, 
however,  made  a  useful  contribution  in  positive 
directions,  and  a  still  more  useful  one  negatively 
by  sho^^dng  how  untenable  were  some  of  the  old 
alphabetic  theories. 

Meantime  de  Saulcy  went  on  with  his  struggles 
over  the  Persepolis  and  other  inscriptions  of  the 
Achsemenian  kings.  He  published  some  papei-s 
which  unhappily  reached  no  successful  result. 
This  has  brought  him  somewhat  under  the  ban  of 
the  unthinking,  who  themselves  never  dare  make 
a  mistake,  and  hence  never  accomplish  anything. 
De  Saulcy  made  the  mistakes,  soon  perceived 
them,  and  went  on  cheerfully  to  repair  them.  He 
had  also  been  working  at  Egyptian,  and  had 
learned  much  in  that  school  of  the  processes  of 
decipherment.     In  this  he  was  like  Hincks,  and 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  187 

de  Longperier  seems  also  to  have  gained  useful 
hints  in  the  same  school.  Now  de  Saulcy  was 
ready  to  take  the  daring  step  of  attempting  to 
decipher  and  translate  an  entire  inscription.  This 
was  the  first  publication  of  an  entire  Assyrian 
inscription,  with  a  commentary  justifying  and  ex- 
plaining the  method  word  by  word.  In  this 
paper  de  Saulcy  set  down  one  hundred  and 
twenty  signs  the  meaning  of  which  he  thought  he 
knew,  but  the  uncertainty  was  great,  and  even  he 
could  hardly  claim  that  he  had  resolved  fairly  the 
difficulties  which  hung  around  the  repetition  of 
signs  for  the  same  consonant. 

What  de  Saulcy  could  not  accomplish  was 
achieved  by  Hincks.  In  a  remarkable  paper  on 
the  Khorsabad  inscriptions,  read  June  25,  1849,' 
Hincks  showed  how  vowels  were  expressed  along 
with  their  consonants  in  the  same  sign.  There 
was,  for  example,  a  sign  for  RA,  and  another  for 
m,  and  still  another  for  RU.  Then  there  was  a 
sign  for  AR,  and  presumably  also  for  UR  and 
IR,  though  he  did  not  fully  and  perfectly  define 
the  last  tw^o.  Here  was  an  enormous  gain,  for  to 
all  these  separate  signs  de  Saulcy  had  assigned 
the  meaning  R.  This  paper  was  not  fully  com- 
pleted until  January  19,  1850,  up  to  which  time 
Hincks  continued  to  make  additions  and  correc- 
tions to  it.  At  its  very  end  he  added  a  few  lines 
of  translation  from  Assyrian.     This  was  indeed  a 

'  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xxii,  "  Polite  Literature," 
pp.  1,  ff. 


188     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

translation  in  a  sense  attained  by  no  other  inter- 
preter. It  gave  fii'st  tlie  Assyrian  cliaractei-s,  then 
an  attempted  transcription  into  Roman  charac- 
ters, and  finally  the  almost  complete  and  very 
nearly  correct  translation.  It  is  impossible  to 
read  this  paper  at  this  late  date  without  astonish- 
ment at  its  grasj)  of  fundamental  principles,  its 
keen  insight  into  linguistic  form  and  life,  and  its 
amazing  display  of  powers  of  combination. 

The  year  1849  had  ended  well,  and  the  year 
1850  had  begun  with  every  sign  of  hope.  Now 
were  even  greater  things  in  store.  Layard's  dis- 
coveries at  Nineveh  had  begun  to  reach  London, 
where  they  could  not  fail  to  rouse  afresh  Assyrian 
study,  just  as  Botta's  had  done  in  France.  It 
was  natural  that  the  first  man  to  avail  himself  of 
the  fresh  material  thus  made  accessible  should  be 
Sir  Henry  Rawlinson.  No  man  had  suffered  so 
much  in  his  efforts  to  secure  copies  of  inscrip- 
tions, and  now  that  he  was  again  in  London  it  is 
not  surprising  that  he  should  at  once  seize  upon 
the  beautiful  obelisk  which  Layard  had  brought 
from  the  mound  of  Nimroud.  In  two  papers 
read  January  19  and  February  16  '  Rawlinson  gave 
an  elaborate  and  an  acute  handling  of  this  great 
inscription,  concluding  mth  a  tentative  translation 
of  those  parts  of  it  which  appeared  to  his  study  to 
give  a  reasonable  sense.  If  we  compare  this  work 
of  Rawlinson  with  the  work  of  Hincks,  it  suffers 
considerably  by  the  comparison.     Rawlinson,  it  is 

^Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xii,  pp.  401,  ff. 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN,  189 

true,  has  often  hit  the  true  sense  of  a  passage, 
more  often  he  has  even  presented  a  smooth  trans- 
lation which  late  study  has  gone  far  to  justify. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  did  not  give  text,  tran- 
scription, and  translation  together,  as  Hincks  had 
done,  and  it  was  therefore  impossible  for  students 
who  could  not  examine  the  original  to  criticise, 
verify,  or  disprove  the  values  he  assigned  to  the 
characters.  It  is  clear  that  without  this  there  can 
never  be  definite,  determined  progress  in  any  work 
of  interpretation.  Nevertheless,  though  the  means 
for  this  had  not  been  given  by  Rawlinson  in  his 
translation,  he  had  discussed  a  number  of  words, 
printing  the  sign  with  its  transcription  and  trans- 
lation, and  thereby  supplying  full  material  for  the 
use  of  later  workers. 

But  even  after  this  Rawlinson's  great  con- 
tribution to  the  decipherment  was  still  to  be 
given.  AVhile  scholars  in  Europe  had  been  strug- 
gling over  the  Persepolis  inscriptions  he  was  liv- 
ing alone  in  Baghdad,  seeking  every  opportunity 
to  study  the  rocks  at  Behistun,  and  so  obtain  a 
complete  copy  of  the  great  trilingual  inscription 
of  Darius.  He  had  already  published  the  Persian 
part  of  this  text ;  and  Edwin  Norris,  with  his  per- 
mission, had  issued  the  second  (then  called  Median) 
part.  The  most  important  part  was  the  Baby- 
lonian, and  the  copy  of  this  Rawlinson  still  held 
in  his  own  possession,  laboriously  working  it  over, 
and  trying  to  wring  the  last  secret  from  the  com- 
plex signs  before  he  ventured  upon  its  issue  to 


190     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

the  world.  For  the  length  of  this  delay  Rawlin- 
son  has  been  most  unjustly  blamed  and  criticised.* 
That  he  was  jealous  of  his  fame  is  made  clear 
enough  by  the  controversial  letters  of  later  years, 
but  in  this  he  was  well  enough  justified.  Others 
were  at  work  in  the  effort  to  decipher  these  long- 
lost  records  of  old  world  peoples.  They  were 
eager  for  the  phantom  of  fame  for  themselves,  and 
few  would  be  likely  to  take  pains  to  conserve  to 
Rawlinson  the  fame  which  was  justly  due  his 
achievements,  as  some  little  compensation  for  the 
loss  of  ease  and  for  the  privations  and  toils  which 
he  had  endured. 

At  last  in  1851  appeared  the  long-expected, 
eagerly-awaited  Memoir^  Rawlinson  published 
one  hundred  and  twelve  lines  of  inscription  in 
cuneiform  type,  accompanied  with  an  interlinear 
transcription  into  Roman  characters  and  a  transla- 
tion into  Latin.  To  this  was  added  a  body  of 
notes  in  which  many  principles  of  grammar  and  of 
interj^retation  were  discussed,  together  with  brief 
lists  of  signs. 

This  Memoir  of  Rawlinson  is  justly  to  be  con- 
sidered an  epoch-making  production.  Here  at 
last  was  a  long  and  difficult  inscription  almost 
completely  translated,  and  here  was  the  subject 
of  the  Assyiian  language  carried  even  to  the  point 

'  See  the  allusions  made  to  the  subject  by  F.  Max  Miiller  in  his  Bio- 
graphical Essays^  pp.  284,  287,  and  elsewhere.  These  and  other  allu- 
sions in  the  same  paper  which  seemed  to  reflect  upon  Rawlinson  led  to  an 
animated  controversy  in  the  Athenceum  in  1884. 

^Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xiv,  entire  (1851). 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  191 

of  close  disputing  about  grammatical  niceties.  It 
was  indeed  tlie  completion  of  a  gigantic  task  pur- 
sued amid  great  difficulties,  with  a  single  eye. 
Science  and  society  have  too  little  honored  the 
man  who  dared  and  executed  this  great  task. 

But  great  as  was  the  result  of  Rawlinson's  work 
there  was  a  sense  in  which  it  brought  new  diffi- 
culties and  trials  to  the  patient  interpreters  of 
the  texts.  It  became  perfectly  clear  from  his 
studies  that  in  Assyrian  or  Babylonian  the  same 
sign  did  not  always  possess  the  same  meaning. 
Such  signs  as  these  Rawlinson  called  polyphones. 
This  was  added  difficulty  upon  difficulty.  Here, 
for  example,  was  a  sign  which  had  the  syllabic 
values  Kcd^  Mih,  Dan,  etc.  This  principle  seemed 
to  some  of  Rawlinson's  critics  perfectly  absurd. 
In  the  popular  mind,  also,  it  did  very  much  to 
destroy  all  faith  in  the  proposed  interpretation  of 
the  Babylonian  inscriptions.  "How,"  one  man 
would  say,  "  do  you  know  when  this  sign  is  to  be 
read  Kal,  or  when  Mih,  or  how  do  you  know  that 
it  does  not  mean  Dan  ?  "  "  Yes,"  adds  another, 
"  how  do  you  expect  us  to  believe  that  a  great  peo- 
ple like  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians  ever  could 
have  kept  record  with  such  a  language,  or  with 
such  a  system  of  writing  as  that  ?  The  whole  thing 
is  impossible  on  the  face  of  it."  Of  course  such 
criticism  could  make  no  impression  upon  Rawlin- 
son himself;  his  knowledge  had  come  to  him  by 
painful  steps  and  slow,  and  was  not  thus  easy  to 
overthrow.     It  did,  however,  have  weight  in  popii- 


192      HISTOKY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

lar  estimation,  and  the  popular  estimate  cannot  be 
despised  or  cast  aside  even  by  scholars.  It  had 
to  be  reckoned  with,  as  Rawlinson  knew  well 
enough.  It  would  be  easy  after  a  while  to  prove 
that  his  interpretation  was  correct — for  that  day 
he  could  wait  patiently.  It  was,  however,  un- 
fortunate that  Kawlinson  could  not  have  set  foj'th 
all  his  reasons  and  all  his  processes,  together  with 
all  the  critical  apparatus.  In  this  particular  one 
must  feel  some  disappointment  over  the  great 
Memoir — in  this  at  least  it  was  not  equal  to  the 
papers  of  Hincks. 

While  Rawlinson  was  now  thought  by  many  to 
have  solved  the  problem  in  the  main  points,  Hincks 
never  relaxed  for  a  moment  his  energetic  pursuit 
of  interpretation. 

In  July  and  August,  1850,  he  appears  to  have 
attended  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at 
Edinburgh,  where  he  circulated  among  the  mem- 
bers a  lithographed  plate  containing  a  number  of 
signs  registering  forms  of  verbs.  This  paper,  of 
which  only  a  brief  sketch  was  published,'  has  been 
almost  overlooked  in  the  history  of  the  progress  in 
Assyrian  research.  It  is,  however,  of  great  im- 
portance. It  shows  that  Hincks  had  gone  beyond 
the  point  of  mere  guessing  at  the  meanings  of 
sentences,  and  had  reached  the  point  of  studying 
the  grammar  of  the  language  which  was  in  his 

'  Report  of  the  Twentieth  Meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science,  held  at  Edinburgh  in  July  and  August,  1850. 
London,  1851,  p.  140,  with  plate  at  the  end. 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  193 

hands.  In  this  field  he  was  soon  to  excel  all 
others,  and  lay  deep  and  solid  foundations  of 
Assyrian  grammar. 

During  the  year  1851  Hincks  appears  to  have 
published  nothing,  and  was  then  probably  engaged 
in  a  study  of  all  the  material  that  was  accessible.  In 
the  next  year  he  published  a  list  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty-two  Assyrian  characters,  the  rules  of  which  he 
discussed  separately.'  This  paper  marks  an  extraor- 
dinary advance  over  all  that  had  gone  before.  He 
now  applies  no  longer  the  old  methods  of  decipher- 
ment alone,  but  adds  to  this  method  a  new  and 
far  more  delicate  one.  He  analyzes  grammatical 
forms,  and  shows  how  a  root  appears  in  different 
forms  according  to  its  use  in  different  conjugations. 
By  this  means  he  is  able  to  test  the  values  proposed 
and  to  verify  them.  In  this  paper,  also,  he  showed 
that  Assyrian  possessed  a  most  elaborate  system 
of  writing.  There  were  first  signs  for  single 
vowels,  such  as  a,  i,  u.  Secondly  there  were  simple 
syllabic  characters,  such  as  ab,  ib,  ub,  ba,  bi,  bu; 
thirdly  there  were  complex  syllabic  characters,  such 
as  bar,  ban,  rab,  etc. 

Meantime  Jules  Oppert  had  returned  from 
Babylonia  and  soon  after  visited  England  to  see 
the  British  Museum  collections.  He  was  present 
at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Glas- 
gow in  1855,  and  there  heard  Sir  Henry  Kawlin- 

'  On  the  Assyrio- Babylonian  Phonetic  Characters,  by  the  Rev.  Edward 
Hincks,  D.D.  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy^  vol.  xxii,  part  ii, 
"  Polite  Literature,"  pp.  29.3,  ff. 


194     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

son's  account  of  the  excavations  at  Birs  Nimroud, 
and  himself  spoke  upon  the  results  of  his  own 
work  in  Babylonia.' 

The  workers  were  now  increasing  in  numbers, 
for  Oppert  was  a  great  accession  in  Paris,  after 
his  two  years  of  absence,  and  in  England  there 
was  a  new  accession  in  the  person  of  Fox  Talbot, 
a  remarkably  gifted  man.  But  with  all  the  new 
workers  in  Ireland,  France,  and  England,  who 
gave  in  their  adhesion  to  the  principles  and  the 
results  of  decipherment,  there  were  many  who  de- 
rided or  who  doubted  the  whole  matter.  Often 
before  had  doubts  been  expressed  about  the 
translations,  and  the  investigators  passed  quietly 
on  and  paid  no  attention.  H.  Fox  Talbot  was, 
however,  in  the  fresh  enthusiasm  of  his  scholastic 
life,  unwilling  longer  to  hear  these  doubts  without 
some  effort  to  dissipate  them.  He  therefore  de- 
vised a  novel  and  striking  plan.  Rawlinson  was 
now  about  to  publish  for  the  trustees  of  the  Brit- 
ish Museum  lithographic  cojpies  of  selected  As- 
syrian inscriptions.  He  had  already  copied  and 
had  lithographed  the  contents  of  a  cylinder,  which 
he  asserted  contained  the  name  Tiglath-pileser. 
An  advance  copy  of  this  lithograph  was  sent  to 
Fox  Talbot,  who  at  once  made  a  translation  of  the 
parts  which  he  could  readily  make  out.  This 
translation  he  put  in  a  packet,  carefully  sealed,  and 

'  Report  of  the  Tioenty-fifth  greeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  held  at  Glasgow  in  September,  1855.  London, 
185G,  pp.  Ixxii,  148,  149. 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  195 

sent  to  the  Eoyal  Asiatic  Society,  accompanied 
by  a  letter  tlie  purpose  of  which  appears  clearly  in 
the  following  extracts : 

"  Having  been  favored  with  an  early  copy  of 
the  lithograph  of  this  inscription  by  the  liberality 
of  the  trustees  of  the  British  Museum  and  of  Sir 
H.  Rawlinson,  I  have  made  from  it  the  translation 
which  I  now  offer  to  the  society.  A  few  words 
will  explain  my  object  in  doing  so : 

"  Many  persons  have  hitherto  refused  to  believe 
in  the  truth  of  the  system  by  which  Dr.  Hincks 
and  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  have  interpreted  the  As- 
syrian writings,  because  it  contains  many  things 
entirely  contrary  to  their  preconceived  opinions. 
For  example,  each  cuneiform  group  represents  a 
syllable,  but  not  always  the  same  syllable ;  some- 
times one  and  sometimes  another.  To  which  it 
is  replied  that  such  a  license  would  open  the  door 
to  all  manner  of  uncertainty ;  that  the  ancient  As. 
Syrians  themselves,  the  natives  of  the  country, 
could  never  have  read  such  a  kind  of  writing,  and 
that,  therefore,  the  system  cannot  be  true,  and 
the  interpretations  based  upon  it  must  be  falla- 
cious." ' 

This  was  the  situation  as  Talbot  apprehended  it, 
and  he  suggested  that  his  translation  be  kept  sealed 
until  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson's  should  be  published, 
and  then  that  the  two  versions  be  compared.  If 
then  the  two  were  found  in  substantial  agreement, 
it  would  go  far  to  convince  the  doubting,  as  each 

■  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xviii,  p.  150. 


196     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

translatiou  would  have  been  made  entirely  inde- 
pendently of  the  other.  When  this  communication 
was  read  before  the  Society  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson 
moved  that  measures  be  taken  to  carry  out  Mr. 
Talbot's  plan  upon  even  a  greater  scale  than  he 
had  purposed.  It  was  determined  to  request  Sir 
Henry  Rawlinson,  Edward  Hincks,  and  Jules  Op- 
pert  to  send  to  the  society,  under  sealed  covers, 
translations  of  this  same  inscription.  These  trans- 
lations were  then  to  be  opened  and  compared  in 
the  presence  of  the  following  committee;  The 
Very  Rev.  the  Dean  of  St.  Paul's  (Dr.  Milman), 
Dr.  AVhewell,  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson,  Mr.  Grote, 
the  Rev.  W.  Cureton,  and  Prof.  H.  H.  Wilson. 

Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  furnished  an  almost  com- 
plete version,  but  neither  Dr.  Hincks  nor  Dr. 
Oppert  had  had  time  to  complete  theirs.  They 
sent  in,  however,  enough  for  effective  comparison. 
The  versions  were  found  indeed  to  be  in  closest 
correspondence,  and  the  committee  reported  that : 

"The  coincidences  between  the  translations, 
both  as  to  the  general  sense  and  verbal  rendering, 
were  very  remarkable.  In  most  parts  there  was 
a  strong  correspondence  in  the  meaning  assigned, 
and  occasionally  a  curious  identity  of  expression  as 
to  particular  words.  Where  the  versions  differed 
very  materially  each  translator  had  in  many 
cases  marked  the  passage  as  one  of  doubtful  or 
unascertained  signification.  In  the  interpretation 
of  numbers  there  was  throughout  a  singular  cor- 
respondence." 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.  197 

The  examiners  theu  drew  up  tables  of  coin- 
cidences and  of  variations,  and  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society  published  all  four  translations  side  by 
side. 

The  effect  in  Great  Britain  of  this  demonstra- 
tion was  great  and  "widespread.  It  gradually  be- 
came clear  to  the  popular  mind  that  the  Assyrian 
inscriptions  had  really  been  read,  and  the  popular 
mind  in  Great  Britain  is  a  force  in  science  as  in 
politics.  The  results  of  its  influence  would  soon 
appear. 

With  this  popular  demonstration  the  task  of 
interpreting  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  inscrip- 
tions may  properly  be  regarded  as  having  reached 
an  assured  position.  It  was  indeed  necessary  that 
all  the  work  from  the  very  beginning  of  Grotefend's 
first  attempts  at  decipherment  of  the  Persepolis 
inscriptions  should  be  tested  by  fresh  minds. 
This  testing  it  secured  as  man  after  man  came  to 
the  fore  as  a  student  of  Assyriology.  The  ground 
was,  however,  fully  gained  and  completely  held. 
Assyrian  study  was  able  to  take  its  j^lace  by  the 
side  of  older  sisters  in  the  universities  of  the 
world.  The  material  which  Botta  had  sent  to 
Paris  was  being  quickly  read,  and  papers  dealing 
with  its  historic  results  were  appearing  almost 
weekly.  In  England  the  inscriptions  which  had 
been  sent  home  from  the  excavations  of  Layard, 
Loftus,  Taylor,  and  especially  Rassam,  were  yield- 
ing up  their  secrets.  It  could  not  be  long  until 
popular  opinion  would  demand  that  the  excava- 


198     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

tions  be  resumed.  At  this  time,  however,  workei-s 
were  busy  securing  the  results  of  previous  expe- 
ditions. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  efforts  at  decipherment 
there  began  a  movement  destined  to  influence 
greatly  the  progress  of  Assyrian  studies  in  Eng- 
land. On  the  18th  of  November,  1870,  there  met 
in  the  rooms  of  Mr.  Joseph  Bonomi,  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields,  a  company  of  men  summoned  by  him  and 
by  Dr.  Samuel  Birch,  of  the  British  Museum. 
They  were  bidden  "  to  take  into  consideration  the 
present  state  of  archaeological  research,  and,  if  it 
appeared  desirable,  to  institute  an  association  for 
directing  the  course  of  future  investigations,  and 
to  preserve  a  record  of  materials  already  obtained, 
an  association  whose  special  objects  should  be 
to  collect  from  the  fast-perishing  monuments  of 
the  Semitic  and  cognate  races  illustrations  of  their 
histoiy  and  peculiarities;  to  investigate  and  sys- 
tematize the  antiquities  of  the  ancient  and  mighty 
empires  and  primeval  peoples,  whose  records  are 
centered  around  the  venerable  pages  of  the  Bible." 
As  the  result  of  this  preliminary  conference  a 
public  meeting  was  convened  at  the  rooms  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Literature  on  the  9th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1870,  at  which  time  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Ai'chseology  was  formed.  Dr.  Samuel  Birch  was 
chosen  president,  and  Mr.  W.  R.  Cooper,  secretary, 
while  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson,  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E. 
Gladstone,  and  Dean  R.  Payne  Smith  were  vice 
presidents.     Among  the  earliest  list  of  membei-s 


THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  ASSYRIAN.         199 

were  found  Edwin  Norris,  Hormuzd  Rassam,  W. 
H.  Fox  Talbot,  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce,  and  George 
Smith.  The  society  was  successful  from  the  very 
beginning  of  its  existence,  its  influence  upon  As- 
syrian and  Babylonian  study  being  particularly 
noticeable.  The  first  volume  of  Transactions  was 
issued  in  December,  1871,  and  in  it  Fox  Talbot 
wi'ote  on  "  An  Ancient  Eclipse  "  (in  Assyria),  and 
George  Smith  conti'ibuted  an  elaborate  paper  on 
"The  Early  History  of  Babylonia."  In  a  short 
time  the  society's  publications  became  the  chief 
depository  of  investigations  made  by  English 
scholars  in  the  books  of  the  Assyrians  and  Baby- 
lonians. 


200     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

THE   DECIPHERMENT   OF  SUMERIAN  '  AND  OF  VANNIC. 

The  first  students  who  attempted  to  decipher 
the  ancient  Persian  inscriptions  made  much  of  the 
difficulty  of  the  cuneiform  characters.  They  were 
so  totally  unlike  any  other  form  of  writing  that 
even  while  men  were  busy  in  the  effort  to  find 
out  their  meaning  disputes  began  as  to  their 
origin.  If  the  signs  had  looked  like  rude  pictures 
of  objects,  as  did  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  there 
would  have  been  some  clue  to  their  origin,  but 
during  the  decipherment  process  no  one  could 
discern  any  such  resemblance.  When  the  decipher- 
ment of  Assyrian  began  men  wondered  still  more 
as  to  the  inventors  or  discoverers  of  the  strangely 
complicated  signs.  When  Assyrian  was  finally 
read  it  became  clear  to  several  investigators  almost 
simultaneously  that   it  belonged  to   the    Semitic 

'  The  history  of  the  Sumerian  discoveries  and  disputes  has  been  written 
by  Weissbach  {Die  Sumerische  Frage,  von  F.  H.  Weissbaeh,  Leipzig,  1898) 
in  so  masterly  fashion  that  all  who  now  study  this  interesting  and  im- 
portant episode  in  cuneiform  research  can  hope  for  nothing  more  than 
the  position  of  gleaners,  and  may  be  pardoned  if  they  sometimes  doubt 
whether  even  a  single  full  head  of  grain  remains.  It  were  pedantic  to  at- 
tempt to  do  the  work  all  over  again  without  drawing  upon  his  unrivaled 
collection  of  materials,  and  this  chapter  therefore  depends  very  much  upon 
him,  and  hearty  acknowledgment  is  here  made  of  the  fact.  It  attempts  to 
seize  upon  the  salient  points  and  emphasize  them,  but  students  who  wish 
to  follow  the  minute  discussions,  unsuitable  for  a  book  of  this  character, 
must  have  recourse  to  Weissbaeh. 


SUMERIAN  AND  TANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    201 

family  of  languages.  That  discovery  intensified 
the  difficulty  concerning  its  method  of  writing. 
In  1850  Edward  Hincks  called  attention'  to  the 
fact  that,  though  Assyrian  was  a  Semitic  tongue, 
yet  was  its  script  totally  unlike  that  used  by  any 
of  the  related  languages.  He  suggested  that  the 
script  was  related  to  the  Egyptian,  and  put  forth 
the  hypothesis  that  it  was  invented  by  an  Indo- 
European  people,  who  had  been  in  contact  ^vith 
Egyptians  and  had  borrowed  something  from 
their  method  of  writins^. 

Shortly  afterward  (1853)  Rawlinson  wrote  to 
the  Roj^al  Asiatic  Society'  announcing  the  dis- 
covery of  a  number  of  inscriptions  "in  the 
Scythian  language,"  which  he  thought  were  re- 
lated to  the  Median  texts  of  the  Persepolis  in- 
scriptions. He  pronounced  these  new  inscriptions 
to  be  older  than  the  Pereepolis  inscriptions,  and 
also  older  than  the  dynasty  of  Nebuchadrezzar, 
and  argued  that  the  Scythians  were  in  possession 
of  the  w^estern  country  before  the  Semites  ap- 
peared. He  was  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  he 
had  found  inscriptions  written  in  cuneiform  char- 
acters, but  in  a  non-Semitic  language.  He  seems, 
in  a  word,  to  be  moving  toward  the  idea  that 
these  Scythians  had  invented  the  cuneiform  meth- 
od of  writing.     This  view  was  propounded  in  the 

'  Report  of  the  Twentieth  Meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science^  1850.  Transactions  of  the  Sections,  p.  140.  See  also 
Transactions  of  the  Rotjal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xxii,  "  Polite  Literature," 
p.  295  (dated  November  24,  1852). 

-  Athenceum,  1853,  p.  228. 
1.1 


202     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

very  next  year  by  Oppert,'  who  attempted  to 
show  how  this  assumed  Scythian  script  had  passed 
over  into  the  hands  of  the  Assyrians. 

Rawlinson  was  now  busily  engaged  in  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  new  problem,  and  on  December 
1,  1855,  was  able  to  report  substantial  progress  to 
the  Royal  Asiatic  Society."  He  had  been  study- 
ing so-called  "  Scythian  "  inscriptions  as  old  as  the 
thirteenth  century  B.  C,  and  he  found  the  same 
language  in  the  left  columns  of  the  Assyi'ian  syl- 
labaries. These  syllabaries  he  explained  as  con- 
sisting of  comparative  alphabets,  grammars,  and 
vocabularies  of  the  Scythian  and  Assyrian  lan- 
guages. His  theory  now  was  that  these  Babylo- 
nian Scythians  were  known  as  Accadians.  They 
were  the  people  who  had  built  the  cities  and 
founded  the  civilization  of  Babylonia.  The  Sem- 
ites had  merely  entered  into  their  labors,  and  had 
adopted  from  them  the  cuneiform  system  of  writ- 
ing. The  language  of  the  Accadians  he  thought 
more  closely  related  to  the  Mongolian  and  Man- 
chu  type  than  to  any  others  of  the  Turanian  lan- 
guages. 

Hincks  had  meantime  been  studying  some  small 
bilingual  texts  and  was  prepared  to  state  some  of 
the  peculiarities  of  the  newly  found  Accadian 
language.'     He   observed,  in  the  first  place,  that 


^  Atheneeum  franr;ais,  3,  p.  991,  ff.,  October  21,  1854. 
^Athenceum,  1855,  p.  1438. 

^  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenldndischen  Gesellschaft,  x,  p.  516,  ff. 
(1856). 


SUMEEIAN  AND  VANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    203 

verbs  were  entirely  unchangecl  in  all  persons  and 
numbers,  while  the  substantives  formed  a  plural 
by  the  addition  of  ua  or  \oa.  He  found  also 
postpositions  where  we  should  use  prepositions^ 
and  this  was  a  resemblance  to  the  Turanian  lan- 
guages, though  he  would  not  go  so  far  as  Rawlin- 
son  in  saying  to  which  one  of  them  Accadian 
seemed  most  nearly  related.  A  year  later  Hincks ' 
abandoned  the  name  Accadian,  preferring  to  call 
it  by  some  such  name  as  Old  Chaldean.  This 
was  his  last  contribution  to  the  investigation  of 
the  inscriptions  and  the  languages  which  they  ex- 
pressed. On  December  3,  1866,  he  died,  leaving 
behind  an  imperishable  record  of  painstaking 
labor,  accurate  scholarship,  and  amazing  fertility 
and  resourcefulness  of  mind.  To  the  new  science 
of  Assyriology  he  had  made  more  contributions  of 
permanent  value  than  perhaps  any  other  among 
the  early  decipherers.  The  death  of  Hincks  left 
Jules  Oppert  as  the  leader  in  the  work  of  unravel- 
ing the  tangled  threads  of  the  new  language. 

In  1869  Oppert  read  a  learned  paper'  on  the 
origin  of  the  Chaldeans,  in  which  he  gave  the 
name  Chaldean  or  Sumerian  as  the  name  of 
the  language  which  Kawlinson  had  called  Acca- 
dian. The  name  Sumerian  was  judged  by  many 
to  be  more  suitable  and  gradually  came  into  use, 
though  Accadian  is  even  yet  used  by  some  schol- 

■  Atlantis,  iv,  67,  ff. 

*  Comptes  rendus  de  la  Societe  fran^aise  de  tiumismatiqice  et  d''arch€ologie, 
i,  73,  ff. 


204     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

ars,  while  for  a  short  time  the  phrase  Sumero- 
Accadian  was  in  vogue. 

Up  to  this  time  the  study  of  Accadian  or  Su- 
merian  had  been  carried  on  very  largely  along 
historical  and  geographical  Hues.  No  single  text 
had  been  studied,  expounded,  and  translated  until 
1870,  when  Professor  A.  H.  Sayce'  devoted  to  a 
small  inscription  of  Duugi  the  most  elaborate 
philological  exegesis.  The  words  in  Accadian 
were  here  compared  one  by  one  with  words  of 
similar  phonetic  value  in  more  than  a  score  of 
languages  and  dialects,  and  for  the  first  time  Ac- 
cadian loan  words  were  recognized  in  Assyrian. 
This  paper  marked  a  distinct  advance  in  the  study 
of  Sumerian,  at  the  same  time  that  it  indicated 
the  position  attained  by  his  predecessors  in  the 
new  study.  Sayce  had  proved  a  worthy  sue- 
cessor  of  Hincks  in  philological  insight,  and  had 
contributed  much  to  the  grammatical  study  of 
Sumerian.  He  was  speedily  followed  in  this  by 
Opi^ert,  who  contributed  more  grammatical  ma- 
terial in  two  excellent  papers.' 

Up  to  this  time  none  had  dared  to  compile  a 
Sumerian  grammar,  though  material  was  rapidly 
accumulating.  But  in  1873  Lenormant  began  to 
issue  the  second  series  of  his  Lettres  assyrio- 
logiques,^  the  first  part  of  which  contained  a  com- 

'  "  On  an  Akkadian  Seal,"  Journal  of  Philology,  iii,  1,  ff.,  1871. 

^Jou7-nal  Asiatiqiie,  ser.  i,  113,  fif.,  and  Memoh-es  du  I  Congres  intern,  des 
Orientalistes,  ii,  216,  ff.     Paris,   1876. 

^  Lettres  assyriologiqnes,  II  Serie  :  Etudes  accadiennes,  T.  i,  en  4  parties. 
Paris,  1874. 


SUMERIAN  AND  VANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    205 

plete  and  systematic  grammar  of  Sumerian.  lu 
the  section  relating  to  phonetics  Lenormant  noted 
the  correspondence  between  ng  and  m,  and  iden- 
tified Burner  ( ==  Sungiri)  with  Senndr,  Shinar 
(Gen.  X,  10),  Smiarrah  (Abu  '1-farag,  Hist,  dyn,,  ed. 
Pococke,  p.  18),  Sumere  (Amm.  Marc.  25,  6).  The 
second  part  of  this  book  was  wholly  given  up  to 
paradigms,  while  the  third  contained  an  extensive 
list  of  cuneiform  signs.  The  fourth  and  last  part 
was  given  over  to  a  long  discussion  of  the  name  of 
the  language,  in  which  Lenormant  learnedly  op- 
posed Oppert's  name  of  Sumerian,  and  contended 
for  the  older  name  Accadian.  The  whole  book 
would  in  itself  make  a  considerable  scholarly  repu- 
tation, and  it  was  followed  by  another  in  an  aston- 
ishing brief  space  of  time.  In  this '  Lenormant  was 
not  directly  concerned  with  the  Sumerian  language, 
but  in  two  chapters,  entitled  "  The  People  of  Ac- 
cacV  and  "  TAe  Turanians  in  Chaldea  and  in 
Westeini  Asia,''''  he  again  entered  upon  the  difficult 
subject.  He  had  now  advanced  to  the  view  that 
the  Accadian  language,  as  he  still  insisted  upon 
calling  it,  must  be  classified  in  the  Ural-altaic 
family  and  considered  as  the  type  of  a  special 
group.  In  certain  particulars  he  judged  it  to 
have  most  affinity  with  the  Ugro-finnic,  in  others 
with  the  Turkish  languages. 

In  spite  of  all  that  has  been  achieved  by  the 
English  and  French  investigators  the  subject  was 

'  Lenormant,   La  Magie  chez  les   Chaldiens  et  les  origines  aceadiennes. 
Paris,  1874-75. 


206      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

still  filled  with  difliculty,  and  when  Eberhard 
Schrader,  later  justly  called  "the  father  of  Assyri- 
ology  in  Germany,"  -wTote  his  important  book  on 
the  Assyro-Babylonian  inscriptions'  he  almost 
avoided  it.  In  this  book  he  must  needs  refer  to 
the  language  which  appeared  in  the  left  column 
of  the  syllabaries,  but  he  did  not  enter  into  the 
vexed  questions  in  dispute  between  Lenormant 
and  Oppert.  Two  years  later,  however,  in  a  re- 
view ^  of  Lenormant  he  definitely  took  sides  with 
him  against  Oppert  and  adopted  Accadian  instead 
of  Sumerian.  In  this  he  was  followed  by  his  dis- 
tinguished pupil,  Friedrich  Delitzsch,'  who  con- 
tributed some  further  explanations  of  the  sylla- 
baries. 

When  the  year  1873  drew  to  its  close  scholars 
had  reason  to  feel  that  the  question  which  had 
puzzled  Hincks  in  1850  was  settled.  They  were 
able  to  say  that  all  scholai-s  were  agreed  upon  two 
propositions,*  namely,  1.  The  cuneiform  method 
of  writing  was  not  invented  by  the  Semitic  Baby- 
lonians or  Assyrians.  2.  It  was  invented  by  a 
people  who  spoke  a  language  which  belonged  to 
the  agglutinative  forms  of  human  speech.     There 


^  Schrader,Eberhard,  Die  assyrisch-bahylonischen  KeiUnschriften.  Kritische 
Untersuchung  der  Orundlagen  ihrer  Entzifferung.  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen 
Morgeydiindischen  Oesellschaft,  xxvi,  pp.  1-392,  1872;  also  separately. 
Leipzig,  18Y2. 

^  Jenaer  Literahir-Zeitting,  1,  Rec.  No.  200,  18Y4,  quoted  by  Weissbach. 

^  Assyrische  Studien,  Heft  1.  Assyrische  Thiernamen  mit  vielen  Ex- 
cur  sen  und  einem  assyrischemmd  ak/cadischen  Olossar.    Leipzig,  1874, 

*  So  formulated  by  Weissbacli,  oj).  cit.,  p.  24. 


SUMERIAN  AND  VANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    207 

was  indeed  still  a  dispute  about  the  name  of  the 
new  language  whether  it  should  be  called  Acca- 
dian  or  Sumerian,  and  there  were  numerous  ques- 
tions concerning  its  character,  age,  literature,  and 
history  which  might  occupy  the  skill  and  patience 
of  investigators  for  a  long  time,  but  the  main 
question  was  settled. 

But  alas  for  the  danger  of  overassurance  !  While 
Oppert  and  Lenormant  were  disputing  concerning 
the  name  of  this  ancient  language,  there  lived  in 
Paris  an  orientalist,  Joseph  Halevy,  who  held  dis- 
tinguished rank  as  a  scholar  in  the  difficult  field 
of  Semitic  epigraphy.  Halevy  was  not  known  as 
an  Assyriologist  at  all,  but  he  had  followed  every 
detail  of  the  process  of  deciphering  Sumerian,  had 
watched  every  discussion  of  its  grammatical  pecul- 
iarities, and  had  never  from  the  beginning  believed 
in  its  existence !  On  July  10,  1874,  the  Academic 
des  Inscriptions  listened  to  the  first  of  a  series  of 
papers  on  the  Sumerian  question  from  him.  Other 
papers  followed  on  July  24  and  August  14.'  In 
these  Halevy  discussed  three  questions : '  1.  Grant- 
ing its  existence,  does  the  Accadian  language  be- 
long to  the  Turanian  family  ?  2.  May  the  ex- 
istence of  a  Turanian  people  in  Babylonia  be 
conceded  ?  3.  Do  these  so-called  Accadian  texts 
present  a  real  language  distinct  from  Assyrian,  or 

'  Comptes  rendus  de  VAcad.  des  hiscr.,  iv,  ser.  2,  201,  209,  215 ;  see  also 
pp.  261-264,  The  entire  paper  is  published  in  Journal  Asiatique,  vii, 
ser.  3.  461,  ff.,  1874. 

'  So  stated  by  Weissbach,  op.  c/<.,  p.  25. 


208     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

merely  an  ideographic  system  of  writing  invented 
by  tlie  Assyrians  ?  As  Weissbach  has  pointed  out,* 
the  order  of  these  questions  is  strange  and  un- 
methodical. Halevy  should  have  begun  with  the 
third  question,  and  then  passed  on  to  the  other 
two.  But,  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  method, 
there  cannot  be  two  opinions  as  to  the  consummate 
ability  of  the  discussion.  Halevy's  mind  was  stored 
with  learning  philological,  historical,  and  ethno- 
logical; he  was  a  dialectician  superior  to  Lenor- 
mant  or  Oppert ;  he  had  the  keenness  of  a  ready 
debater  in  searching  out  the  weakest  places  in  the 
arguments  of  his  opponents  and  the  skill  of  an  ex- 
pert swordsman  in  puncturing  them.  It  was  a  most 
daring  act  for  a  man  not  yet  known  as  an  Assyri- 
ologist  to  oppose  single-handed  the  united  forces 
of  scholarship  in  the  department.  Halevy  had 
sought  to  prove  no  less  a  thesis  than  that  all 
scholars  from  the  beginning  of  the  investigation 
by  Hincks  and  Rawlinson  had  been  deceived. 
The  signs  which  they  had  supposed  represented 
the  syllables  or  words  of  a  language  spoken  in 
Babylonia  in  the  very  beginning  of  recorded  time 
w^ere  to  him  but  the  fanciful  product  of  the  fertile 
minds  of  Assyrian  priests.  The  cuneiform  writing 
was  the  invention  of  Semites,  long  used  by 
Semites,  and  the  Sumerian  w^ords  so  called  were 
only  cryptic  signs,  invented  for  mystification 
and  especially  used  in  incantations  or  religions 
formulae. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  25. 


SUMERIAN  AND  VANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    209 

When  Halevy's  papers  were  published  not  a 
single  Assyriologist  was  convinced  by  them,  and 
only  one  anonymous  writer'  ventured  to  accept 
his  conclusions.  On  the  other  hand, every  Assyri- 
ologist of  note  who  had  had  any  share  in  the  pre- 
vious discussions  was  soon  in  the  field  with  papers 
attacking  Halevy's  positions  or  defending  the 
ground  which  but  a  short  time  before  had  seemed 
so  sure  as  to  ueed  no  defense.  In  a  few  months 
Lenormant '  had  written  a  large  volume  in  oppo- 
sition, while  Schrader  was  content  with  an  able 
and  much  briefer  paper.'  Delitzsch,  in  a  review* 
of  Leuormaut's  book,  also  ranged  himself  with 
them,  while  Oppert,'  opposing  Halevy  with  all  his 
learning  and  acuteness,  nevertheless  continued  t-o 
argue  for  his  own  peculiar  tenets  against  Lenor- 
mant, Schrader,  and  Delitzsch. 

The  issue  was  now  squarely  joined,  and  earnest 
and  able  though  the  replies  to  Halevy  had  un- 
doubtedly been,  nevertheless,  it  must  be  said  in 
justice  that  they  had   not  driven  him  from  the 


'  This  unknown  writer  wrote  in  Anskuul,  Jhg.  47,  941,  ff.,  1874.  I  have 
not  succeeded  in  finding  tliis  paper,  and  quote  it  on  the  authoritj'  of  Weiss- 
bach,  op.  cit.,  p.  27,  footnote  1. 

^  La  Langue  primitive  de  la  Chaldee  el  les  idiomes  touraniens.  £tude  de 
philologie  et  d^histoire,  suivie  d\m  glossaire  accadien,  pp.  vii,  455.  Paris, 
1875. 

^  M  das  Akkadische  der  Keilinschriften  eine  Sprache  oder  dne  Schrift  ? 
Zeitschrift  der  Dcutscheu  Morgenldndischeu  Gesellschaft,  xxix,  pp.  1,  ff., 
1876. 

*Lit.  Ceiitralblatt,  1875,  column  1075,  ff. 

^  Etudes  sumeriennes.  1.  Sumerien  ou  accadien  ?  2.  Sammen  ou  rien  ? 
Joiinial  Asiatique,  vii,  stir.  5,  267,  ff.,  442,  ff.,  1875. 


210     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

field.  To  Lenormant  Halevy*  had  replied  promptly, 
and  had  done  much  to  diminish  the  effect  of  that 
scholar's  attack  upon  his  position.  The  defenders 
of  the  existence  of  the  Sumerian  language  did  not 
agree  among  themselves  on  many  points,  and 
wherever  they  differed  Halevy  skillfully  opposed 
the  one  to  the  other  in  his  argument.  In  1876  he 
read  before  the  Academie  des  Inscriptions,  and 
afterward  published,  a  paper  on  the  Assyrian  origin 
of  the  cuneiform  writing,*  in  which  he  modified  his 
views  somewhat,  yet  strenuously  insisting  that  the 
entire  system  was  Semitic.  This  paper  was  then 
reprinted,  along  with  the  former  publication  of 
1874,  in  book  form,'  and  with  this  he  began  to 
win  some  adherents  to  his  views,  the  earliest 
being  W.  Deecke  *  and  Moritz  Grlinwald.'  That 
was  at  least  a  slight  gain,  and  he  was  encour- 
aged to  press  on  with  fresh  arguments. 

Meanwhile  the  lines  of  those  who  still  believed 
in  the  existence  of  the  ancient  tongue  were  closing 
up.  Gradually  Oj^pert's  name,  Sumerian,  was  ac- 
cepted by  scholars,  foremost  among  whom  were 
the  pupils  of  Delitzsch,  Fritz  Hommel,  and  Paul 


•  Za  pretendue  Langue  d^Accad  est-elle  touranienne  ?  Reponse  h.  M.  F. 
Lenormant,  31  pp.  Paris,  18*75.  Read  before  the  Academie  des  Inscrip- 
tions November  26,  1876. 

*  Nouvelle  Considerations  sur  le  syllahaire  cuneiforme,  Journal  Asiatique, 
vii,  ser.  1,  201,  ff.,  1876. 

^  Recherches  critiques  sur  Vorigine  de  la  civilisation  habylonienne,  268  pp. 
Paris,  1876. 

*Lit.  Centralblatt,  1877,  456,  ff. 

^  Ausland,  Jhg.  49,  584,  ff.,  1876.  Quoted  from  Weissbach,  op.  cit.,  p. 
39,  footnote  3. 


SUMERIAN  AND  TANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.     211 

Haupt,  while  Lenormant  conceded  a  poiiit  and 
called  it  tlie  language  of  Suiner  and  Accad.'  In 
1879  there  appeared  a  small  book"  by  Paul  Haupt 
which  may  truly  be  said  to  open  a  new  era  in  the 
whole  discussion.  Haupt  was  then  a  young  man 
of  extraordinary  gifts,  and  his  handling  of  the 
Sumerian  family  laws  showed  how  to  treat  a 
bilingual  text  in  a  thoroughly  scientific  manner. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Haupt  had  done  much 
to  stem  the  tide  which  was  threatening  to  set 
toward  Halevy's  position.  Nevertheless,  in  1880, 
Stanislas  Guyard'  came  over  to  Halevy,  and  in 
1884  Henri  Pognon,'  these  being  the  first  Assyri- 
ologists  to  embrace  his  vie^vs.  Between  these  two 
dates  De  Sarzec '  had  been  carrying  on  his  exca- 
vations at  Tello,  in  southern  Babylonia,  and  had 
been  sending  to  the  Louvre  most  interesting  speci- 
mens of  his  discoveries.  In  1884  the  first  part  of 
his  book'  containing  copies  of  the  newly  found 
insciiptions  appeared.  To  Sumerian  scholars  there 
seemed  no  doubt  whatever  that  these  inscriptions 
were  written  in  the  Sumerian  language.  Halevy 
at  once  began  to  explain  their  strangely  sounding 


^  Jour7ial  Asiaiique,  vii,  ser.   12,  378,  f. 

'  Die  Sumerischen  Familiengesetze  in  Keilschrift,  Transcription,  tend 
Uehersetzwig,  nebst  aus/ilhrlichem  Commentar  und  zahlreichen  Excursen. 
Eine  Assyrtoloffische  Stndie,  von  Dr.  Paul  Haupt,  pp.  viii,  15.  Leipzig, 
1879. 

^  Revue  critique,  nouv.,  ser.  ix,  425,  ff.  (31  Mai,  1880). 

*  Journal  Asiatique,  viii,  ser.  2,  413,  ff.     Revve  crif.,  1884,  ii,  47. 

5  See  below,  pp.  236,  ff. 

8  Decoitvertes  en  Chaldee.  Publ.  par  les  soias  de  Leon  Heuzey.  1.  Paris, 
1884. 


212     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

words  as  iu  reality  Semitic,  and  in  1883,  at  the 
International  Congress  of  Orientalists  in  Leiden, 
presented  a  most  elaborate  paper  in  which  he  pre- 
sented his  theory  in  its  fullest  and  most  scientific 
form.'  Halevy  was  not  convinced  that  his  views 
were  incorrect  by  any  of  the  arguments  already 
advanced,  neither  did  the  appearance  of  the  De 
Sarzec  monuments  and  inscriptions  move  him. 
His  efforts  became  more  earnest,  and  Guyard's 
support  was  likewise  full  of  vigor.  Nevertheless, 
the  cause  was  not  gaining,  but  in  the  larger  view 
really  losing.  It  was  significant  that  the  younger 
school  of  Assyriologists  were  strongly  supporting 
the  Sumerian  view.  Jensen,  who  was  later  to  be 
known  as  one  of  the  most  eminent  Assyriologists 
of  his  time,  opposed  Halevy's  view  in  his  very 
first  work,'  as  did  also  Henrich  Zimmern  *  whose 
first  paper  was  of  even  greater  importance.  Carl 
Bezold  *  likewise  joined  with  the  older  school. 

But  encouragement  of  the  very  highest  kind 
was  even  now  almost  in  Halevy's  hands.  In 
some    notes    added    to    Zimmern's    first    book"* 


'  Actes  du  6^me  Congres  international  des  orientalistes,  teuu  en  1883  d 
Leide,  ii,  535,  ff.  Leide,  1885.  Halevy's  paper  is  entitled  ^^  Aperpi  gram- 
matical  de  rallograjMe  assyro-babylonienne.'''' 

'^  De  incantamentorum  sumerico-assyriorum  sei'iei  quae  dicitur  shurbu 
tabula  VI.  Zeitschrift  fiir  Keilschriftforschung^  i,  2*79-322;  ii,  15-61; 
ii,  306-311 ;  416-425.  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  i,  52-68,  Also  partly 
reprinted  as  dissertation.     Monachii,  1885. 

^  Babylonische  Busajisalmen.     Leipzig,  1885. 

^  Knrzgefasste  UeberbUck  iiher  die  Babylonisch-Assyrische  Literatur. 
Leipzig,  1886. 

^  Bnb.  Bfisspn,  pp.  113,  ff. 


SUMERIAN  AND  VANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    213 

Delitzsch  took  occasion  to  speak  in  warm  terms 
of  Halev^y's  very  important  contributions  to  the 
subject,  and  while  not  yet  ranging  himself  at  his 
side,  declared  that  his  view  deserved  very  close 
examination.  AVell  might  the  great  French  orien- 
talist rejoice  over  such  a  promised  accession. 
When  the  first  part  of  Delitzsch's  Assyrian  dic- 
tionary' appeared  every  page  contained  proof 
that  in  his  case  Halevy's  long  and  courageous 
fight  had  won.  Delitzsch  had  joined  the  still 
slender  ranks  of  the  anti-Accadians,  and  when 
his  Assyrian  grammar  appeared  a  whole  para- 
graph* was  devoted  to  a  most  incisive  attack  upon 
the  Sumerian  theory.  The  accession  of  Delitzsch 
is  the  high-water  mark  of  Halevy's  theory.  The 
morrow  would  bring  a  great  change. 

Delitzsch's  grammar  was  received  with  enthusi- 
asm, as  it  well  deserved  to  be,  but  the  anti- 
Sumerian  paragraph  was  severely  handled  by  its 
critics.  In  like  manner  the  anti-Sumerian  position 
of  the  dictionary  met  with  a  criticism  which  indi- 
cated that  even  the  great  name  of  Delitzsch  was 
not  sufficient  to  increase  confidence  in  Halevy's 
cause.  Sayce,  in  a  review  no  less  remarkable  for 
the  range  of  its  learning  than  for  its  scientific 
spirit,  protested  against  Delitzsch's  method.  Leli- 
mann,  in  a  big  book  devoted  to  the  inscriptions  of 


'  Assp'isches  Worterbuch  zur  (/emirinden  b'lsher  veruffeiUlicheu  Keilschrift- 
litcratur,  u.  s.  w.     1st  part.     Leipzig,  1887. 

^  Assyrische  Grammatik.  Leipzig,  1889,  §  25.  English  edition  same 
(late. 


214     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

a  late  Assyrian  king '  devoted  an  entire  chapter '  to 
the  Sumerian  question.  In  it  the  whole  subject  was 
treated  with  a  freshness  and  an  ability  that  left 
little  to  be  desired.  Though  some  minor  criticism 
was  passed  upon  it,  none  but  Halevy  dared  deny 
that  it  marked  a  step  forward  in  the  process  of 
tearing  down  his  elaborate  theories. 

In  the  very  same  year  in  which  Delitzsch's 
grammar  appeared  Bezold  made  a  brilliant  dis- 
covery in  finding  upon  an  Assyrian  tablet  the 
Sumerian  language  mentioned.*  In  his  announce- 
ment of  this  new  fact  Bezold  writes  banteringly, 
asking  Halevy  to  permit  the  language  to  live,  as 
the  Assyrians  had  mentioned  it  by  name.  Beneath 
this  humorous  phrase  there  lies,  however,  a  quiet 
note  of  recognition  that  the  mention  was  im- 
portant, though  not  conclusive  as  to  the  main 
question. 

Almost  every  month  after  the  year  1892 
brought  some  new  material  to  be  considered  and 
related  to  the  ever-debated  question.  The  newer 
discoveries  of  De  Sarzec,  the  wonderful  results  of 
the  American  expedition  to  Nippur,  the  editing  of 
texts  found  by  previous  explorers — all  these  had 
some  link  with  the  Sumerian  question.  In  1897 
Professor  Delitzsch,  borne  down  by  the  weight  of 
fresh  evidence,  abandoned  Halevy's  side  and  once 
more  allied  himseK  to  the  Sumeriologists.     As  he 

'  Shamashshunmk  171  Konig   von  Babylon,   von  C.  F.  Lehmarm.     Leip- 
zig, 1892. 

^Ibid.,  chap,  iv,  pp.  57-173. 

^  Zeltschrift  fiir  Assyriohgie,  iv,  pp.  434,  f. 


SUMERIAN  AND  VANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    215 

Lad  been  a  great  gain,  so  was  lie  now  even  a 
greater  loss.  Halevy  indeed  gained  others  to  his 
side,  but  none  bore  so  famous  a  name.  The  school 
which  he  had  founded  was  waning.  Though  the 
debate  still  continues,  it  has  no  longer  the  same 
intensity.  Year  by  year  the  question  is  less  and 
less,  "  AVas  there  a  Sumerian  language — were  there 
Sumerians  ? "  and  is  more  and  more,  "  What  was 
the  Sumerian  language — who  were  the  Sumeri- 
ans ? "  Every  year  seems  to  justify  Hincks,  Raw- 
linson,  and  Oppert,  the  great  mastei*s  who  laid  the 
foundations  in  this  increasingly  fruitful  field. 

The  history  of  the  study  of  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions is  complicated  by  the  number  of  different 
languages  which  used  the  wedge-shaped  charac- 
ters. We  have  already  shown  that  the  cuneiform 
inscriptions  at  Persepolis  and  Behistun  were  in 
the  Persian,  Susian,  and  Assyrian  languages,  and 
we  have  also  set  forth  at  length  the  long  discus- 
sion over  the  question  of  Sumerian,  another  lan- 
guage likewise  written  in  the  cuneiform  characters. 
The  use  by  four  different  peoples  of  wedge-shaped 
characters  may  well  dispose  the  mind  to  accept 
the  statement  that  still  another  people  wrote  their 
language  in  similar  fashion. 

The  Armenians  have  preserved  for  us  among 
their  traditions  of  Semiramis  the  statement  that 
she  had  at  one  time  determined  to  build  a  new  city 
in  Armenia  as  the  place  of  summer  residence. 
"  When  she  had  seen  the  beauty  of  the  country, 
the  pureness  of  the  air,  the  clearness  of  the  foun- 


216     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

tains  of  water,  and  tlie  murmuring  of  the  swift- 
flowing  rivers,  she  said:  'In  such  a  bahny  air, 
amid  such  beauty  of  water  and  of  land,  we  must 
build  a  city  and  a  royal  residence  that  we  may 
spend  the  one  quarter  of  the  year,  which  is 
summer,  in  the  comfort  of  Armenia,  and  the  other 
three  quarters,  during  the  cold  weather,  iu  As- 
syria.' " '  Even  so  late  as  this  present  century 
scholars  found  the  name  Semiramis  full  of  mystery 
and  attraction,  and  ^vere  anxious  to  learn  more 
about  her  great  deeds.  About  the  end  of  June, 
1827  Fr.  Ed.  Schulz  departed  from  Erzeroum  de- 
termined to  suffer  any  loss  in  the  effort  to  find  the 
summer  city  of  Semiramis.  There  is  no  need  to 
say  that  he  did  not  find  it,  but,  like  many  an- 
other searcher,  found  something  far  more  impor- 
tant. As  he  went  alonoj  the  borders  of  Lake 
Van,  then  almost  unknown  to  Europeans,  he 
turned  in  at  the  gates  of  the  fascinating  city  of 
Van  and  began  a  search  through  the  remains  of 
its  former  greatness.  Beneath  the  great  citadel 
of  Van  was  found  a  small  chamber  approached  by 
a  flight  of  twenty  steps.  Above  these  steps  he 
found  inscriptions  in  the  cuneiform  character 
carved  in  the  face  of  the  solid  rock.  When  these 
had  been  carefullv  copied  he  soua:ht  elsewhere 
and  was   rewarded  with  the    discovery   of  still 

'  Des  Moses  von  Chorene,  Geschichte  Gross- Arme7u ens,  aus  dem  Armen- 
ischen  ubersetzt,  von  Dr.  M.  Lauer.  Regensburg,  1869,  pp.  31,  32.  There 
is  an  English  translation  of  the  History  of  Armenia,  or  rather  the  Genea- 
logical Account  of  Great  Armenia,  of  Moses  of  Chorene  (about  430  A.  D.), 
by  Winston,  London.  1736  4to,  but  it  is  not  accessible  to  me. 


SUMERIAN  AND  YANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.     217 

others.  Iq  other  places  in  the  neighborhood  he 
found  more,  until  lie  had  copied  no  less  than 
forty-two  inscriptions.  Schulz  was  murdered,  and 
when  his  papers  were  recovered  and  brought  to 
Paris  the  inscriptions  were  splendidly  reproduced 
by  lithography,  and  published  in  1840.'  At  this 
time  the  Persian  decipherment  had  indeed  been 
well  begun,  as  had  also  Assyrian,  but  none  were 
able  to  read  the  new  inscrij^tions  for  which  Schulz 
had  given  his  life.  They  were  exceedingly  well 
copied,  when  the  difficulties  are  considered,  but 
so  soon  as  an  attempt  was  made  to  decipher 
them  doubts  arose  as  to  their  accuracy.  It  was 
soon  found  that  three  of  the  inscriptions  were 
written  by  Xerxes,  and  were  in  Persian,  Susian,  and 
Babylonian,  but  tlie  remaining  thirty-nine  were 
in  some  unknown  language.  In  1840  an  inscrip- 
tion in  this  same  language  was  found  by  Captain 
von  Miihlbach  near  Isoglu,  on  the  Euphrates, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west  of  Van.  The 
copies  by  Schulz  as  well  as  this  new  text  came 
before  the  eyes  of  Grotefend  in  due  course,  and 
he  was  quick  to  discern  that  they  did  not  belong 
to  Assyrian  kings.  This  negative  conclusion  was 
of  some  importance  as  a  guidepost,  but  Grotefend 
was  able  to  go  no  further.  In  1847  Sir  A.  H. 
Layard  found    another   inscription  of    the    same 

^Journal  Asiatique,  3eme  serie,  tome  ix,  1840,  pp.  257-323. 

^  Monatsberkhte  ilber  die  Verhandlungen  der  Gesellschaft  fur  Erdknnde 
zn  Berlin,  i,  pp.  70-75  ;  also  in   Original  Papers   read  before  the  Syro- 
Egyptian  Society  of  London,  i,  1,  pp.  131,  £P. 
16 


218     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

kind  at  Palu,'  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Eu- 
phrates about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  from 
Van.  It  was  now  clear  enough  that  this  new- 
language  belonged  to  a  people  of  some  impor- 
tance in  the  ancient  world,  whose  civilization  or 
dominion  extended  over  a  considerable  territory. 

There  was  in  these  facts  an  urgent  call  for  some 
man  able  to  decipher  and  translate  the  records 
and  construct  a  grammar  of  the  language  in  which 
they  were  written.  Who  should  attempt  this  new 
problem  but  that  marvelous  decipherer  of  strange 
tongues,  Dr.  Edward  Hincks  ?  And  two  papers  by 
him  were  read  before  the  Eoyal  Asiatic  Society, 
December  4,  1847,  and  March  4,  1848.' 

In  these  papers  Hincks  determined  correctly 
the  meaning  of  a  large  number  of  the  characters ; 
found  the  meaning  of  such  ideographs  as  "people," 
"  city,"  and  the  signification  of  several  words.  He 
further  was  able  to  show  that  the  termination  of 
the  nominative  singular  and  plural  of  substantives 
was  "<?,"  while  the  accusative  ended  in  "?z."  He 
had  thus  perceived  that  the  language  was  inflec- 
tional, and  went  on  to  argue  erroneously  that  it 
was  Indo-European,  or  Aiyan,  as  he  called  it. 
He  read  the  names  of  the  kings  as  Niriduris, 
Skuina,  Kinuas,  and  Arrasnis,  but  very  shortly 
corrected  them  into  Milidduris,  Ishpuinish,  Minnas, 
and  Argistis,  in  which   the   error,  chiefly  in  the 

'  Sayce,  in  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  new  series,  xiv,  p.  378 
(1882). 

'  Both  papers  are  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
ix,  pp.  387-449(1848). 


SUMERIAN  AND  TANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    219 

first  name,  is  very  slight.  It  is  difficult  to  exagger- 
ate the  impoi-tance  of  this  work,  but  we  may  gain 
some  idea  of  its  value  by  comparing  with  it  Raw- 
linson's  note  on  the  subject  published  two  years 
later.  "  There  are,"  says  Rawlinson, '  "  it  is  well 
known,  a  series  of  inscriptions  found  at  Van  and 
in  the  vicinity.  These  inscriptions  I  name  Ar- 
menian. They  are  written  in  the  same  alphabet 
that  was  used  in  Assyria,  but  are  composed  in 
a  different  language — a  language,  indeed,  which, 
although  it  has  adopted  numerous  words  from  the 
Assyrian,  I  believe  to  belong  radically  to  another 
family,  the  Scythic.  There  are  six  kings  of  the 
Armenian  line  following  in  a  line  of  direct  descent. 
I  read  their  names  as:  1.  Alti-bari;  2.  Ari-mena; 
3.  Isbuin ;  4.  Manua ;  5.  Artsen ;  6.  Ariduri  (?)." 
In  the  reading  of  these  names  Rawlinson  is  dis- 
tinctly behind  Hincks,  as  he  was  always  less  keen 
in  the  treatment  of  philological  niceties. 

For  a  long  series  of  years  Hincks  had  no  suc- 
cessor in  the  work  of  decipherment.  But  every 
few  years  new  inscriptions"  were  found  written  in 
the  same  language,  and  each  one  naturally  in- 
creased the  probability  of  a  successful  outcome  of 
the  efforts  after  decipherment. 

In  1871  Lenormant'  took  up  the  task  where 
Hincks  and   Rawlinson  had  laid  it  down.     His 


'  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xii,  p.  475  (1850). 
*  A  list  is  given   by  Sayce,  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic   Society,  new 
series,  xiv,  pp.  380,  381. 

^Lettres  assyrlohgiques,  i,  pp.  113-164  (1871). 


230     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

method  was  scientific,  and,  like  all  his  work, 
learned  and  searching.  He  first  sketched  the 
early  history  of  Armenia,  as  he  had  learned  its 
outlines  from  the  Assyrian  inscriptions.  That  was 
to  be  the  historical  basis  of  his  work,  and  from  it 
he  hoped  to  extract  useful  geographical  material 
which  might  help  in  the  securing  of  names  in  the 
Vannic  inscriptions.  He  proposed  to  call  the  lan- 
guage Alarodian  (Herodotus,  iii,  94 ;  vii,  79),  and 
argued  that  it  was  non- Aryan,  and  that  its  closest 
modern  representative  was  Georgian.  He  pointed 
out  that  "  hi  "  was  the  termination  of  the  first  per- 
son singular  of  the  verb,  and  that  paruhi  signified 
"  I  carried  away." 

In  the  next  year  Dr.  A.  D.  Mordtmann'  at- 
tacked the  question  and  five  years  later  returned 
to  it  again.  He  determined  the  meaning  of  twelve 
new  words,  and  supplied  a  most  valuable  analysis 
of  all  the  inscriptions,  but  did  not  succeed  in  the 
translation  of  a  single  one  of  them.  Nevertheless, 
he  had  made  a  gain. 

The  next  decipherer  was  Dr.  Louis  de 
Robert'  (1876),  who  deliberately  cast  away  all 
that  had  been  gained  by  Hincks,  Rawlinson,  Le- 
normant,  and  Mordtmann,  and  set  out  afresh  upon 
a  totally  wrong  road.     He  tried  to  show  that  the 


'  Entzi.fferung  und  Erklarung  der  armemschen  Keilinschriften  von  Van 
nnd  der  Umgegend,  von  Dr.  A.  D.  Mordtmann.  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen 
Morgenldndischen  Gesellscha/t,  xxvi,  pp.  465-696  (1872).  Ueber  die  Keilin- 
schriften von  Armenien.     Ibid.,  xxxi,  pp.  406-438  (1877). 

^  £tiide philologique  snr  les  inscriptions  cuneiformes  de  VArrnenie.  Pari3, 
1876. 


SUMERIAN  AND  VANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    221 

inscriptions  were  written  in  the  language  of 
Assyria.  The  result  was  nothing,  and  the  next 
worker  must  return  to  the  methods  of  the  old 
masters. 

Meantime  new  inscriptions  were  constantly  com- 
ing to  light.  Bronze  shields  with  the  name  of 
Eusas  were  found  by  Sir  A.  H.  Layard,  and  exca- 
vations near  Lake  Van  by  Hormuzd  Rassam  un- 
earthed still  more  inscribed  objects  in  bronze. 
Layard  also  laid  a  firmer  foundation  for  future 
work  by  recopying  more  accurately  all  the  inscrip- 
tions for  which  Schulz  had  given  his  life.' 

On  the  9th  of  April,  1880,  M.  Stanislas  Guyard 
presented  to  the  Societe  Asiatique  in  Paris"  "some 
observations  upon  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of 
Van."  He  had  noticed  at  the  end  of  a  good  many 
of  the  inscriptions  a  phrase  in  which  occurred  the 
word  "tablet."  He  remembered  that  Assyrian 
inscriptions  frequently  ended  with  an  imprecatory 
formula,  heaping  curses  upon  whomsoever  should 
destroy  this  tablet,  and  he  suggested  that  here 
was  a  formula  exactly  the  same.  AVhen  he  had 
tested  this  new  clew  he  found  that  the  words 
thus  secured  seemed  to  fit  exceedingly  well  into 
other  passages,  and  his  guess  seemed  thereby  con- 
firmed. 

It  is  curious  that  the  very  same  clew  as  that 
followed  by  Guyard  had  also  independently  been 
discovered  by  Professor  A.  H.  Sayce,  who  had 

'  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xiv,  p.  384. 

''Journal  Asiatique,  7  ser.,  torn,  xv,  pp.  540-543,  Mai-Juin,  1880. 


222     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

been  working  for  several  years  upon  these  texts. 
He  had  fortunately  found  out  a  few  more  words  than 
Gruyard  and  was  able  to  push  on  farther  as  well  as 
more  rapidly.  The  words  in  which  he  began  to 
explain  his  method  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society 
were  strong,  but  every  one  was  justified  by  the 
issue.  He  says:  "The  ideographs  so  freely  em- 
ployed by  the  Yannic  scribes  had  already  showed 
me  that  not  only  the  characters  but  the  style  and 
phraseology  of  the  inscriptions  were  those  of  the 
Assyrian  texts  of  the  time  of  Asshur-natsir-pal  and 
Shalmaneser  II.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  I  have 
at  last  solved  the  problem  of  the  Tannic  inscrip- 
tions and  succeeded  in  deciphering  them,  thereby 
compiling  both  a  grammar  and  vocabulary  of  the 
language  in  which  they  are  written.  Owing  to  the 
number  of  the  texts,  their  close  adherence  to  their 
Assyrian  models,  and  the  plentiful  use  of  ideo- 
graphs, it  will  be  found  that  the  passages  and 
words  which  still  resist  translation  are  but  few, 
and  that  in  some  instances  their  obscurity  really 
results  from  the  untrustworthiness  of  the  copies  of 
them  which  we  possess.'" 

The  long  paper  which  followed  these  words 
began  with  a  survey  of  the  geography,  history, 
and  theology  of  the  Yannic  people,  derived  very 
largely  from  Assyrian  sources,  but  tested  and  ex- 
panded from  the  native  sources  which  he  had  just 
deciphered.  After  this  followed  an  account  of 
the  method  of  writing,  an  outline  of  the  grammar, 

^Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  new  series,  xiv,  pp.  377-732. 


SUMERIAN  AND  VANNIC  DECIPHERMENT.    223 

an  analysis,  and  a  translation  of  the  inscriptions. 
It  was  a  most  remarkable  piece  of  work,  as  sur- 
prising because  of  its  learning  as  because  of  its 
proof  of  a  perfect  genius  for  linguistic  combina- 
tion. It  reminds  the  reader  continually  of  Hincks 
at  his  best.  The  effect  of  its  publication  was  in- 
stantaneous. Guyard  *  reviewed  it  at  length,  offer- 
ing corrections  and  additions,  yet  showing  plainly 
enough  that  the  work  was  successful.  Further 
contributions  to  the  subject  were  made  by  Profess- 
or D.  H.  Miiller,  of  Vienna,  who  had  been  study- 
ing the  texts  independently  both  of  Sayce  and 
Guyard.  More  inscriptions  also  came  to  light, 
and  in  1888  Professor  Saj^ce  was  able  to  review 
the  whole  subject,  accepting  heartily  some  of  the 
many  emendations  of  his  work  which  had  been 
proposed,  rejecting  others,  and  so  putting  the  cap- 
stone upon  his  work.  The  mystery  of  the  inscrip- 
tions at  Van  was  solv^ed.  When  new  texts  in  the 
same  language  should  appear  men  might  indeed 
dispute  as  to  the  name  of  the  language  whether  to 
call  it  Vannic  or  Alarodian  or  Urartian  or  Chal- 
dian,  but  they  would  at  least  be  able  to  read  it. 

So  rested  the  matter  of  the  language  of  Van 
until  1892,  when  Dr.  C.  F.  Lehmann "  began  a 
series  of  studies  in  the  inscriptions  which  Sayce 
had  deciphered,  seeking  to  determine  more  closely 
a  host  of  historical  and  geographical  questions 
which  grew  out  of  them.     He  first  demonstrated 

'  Melmiges  d^  Assyriologie.     Paris,  1883. 

^  Zeitschrifl  f!h-  Ethnolor/h,  1892,  pp.  131,  ff. 


224     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

that  the  people  who  had  written  many  of  these 
texts  were  the  same  as  the  Chaldians  (XdXdoi,  not 
Chaldeans^  who  are  y^akdaioi)  of  the  Greeks.  The 
language  was  therefore  to  be  called  Chaldian,  and 
another  difficulty  was  cleared  up.  Beginning  in 
1895,  Dr.  Waldemar  Belck  and  Dr.  C.  F.  Lehmann ' 
published  a  series  of  papers  of  great  acuteness, 
working  out  the  life  history  of  this  old  people,  who 
had  thus  been  restored  to  present  knowledge, 
clearing  up  many  points  previously  obscurely  or 
incorrectly  set  forth  by  Sayce. 

In  further  pursuit  of  the  studies  thus  begun 
Drs.  Belck  and  Lehmann '  departed  from  Berlin  in 
the  summer  of  1898  for  a  journey  through  Persian 
and  Russian  Armenia.  They  visited  Van  and  care- 
fully collated  all  the  inscriptions  previously  found 
by  Schulz  and  others,  and  found  new  texts  which 
had  been  overlooked  by  all  their  predecessors. 
New  inscriptions  of  Assyrian  kings,  especially  of 
Tiglath-pileser  I  and  Shalmaneser  II,  were  found, 
and  by  these,  also,  our  knowledge  of  Chaldian  his- 
tory was  increased.  The  results  of  this  valuable 
expedition  are  now  being  made  known,  and  it 
may  be  regarded  as  the  concluding  event  in  the 
history  of  the  decipherment  of  the  Vannic  inscrip- 
tions. 

^  Ihid.,  1895,  pp.  678-616;   1896,  pp.  302-308. 

"^  SitzungsbericJitfi  der  Koniglich  Preussischen  Akademie  der  Wissen- 
schaften  zu  Berlin^  1899,  pp.  116-120. 

Zeltschrift  fur  Ethnologie,  1898,  pp.  227,  414-416,  522-627,  568-592; 
1899,  pp.  411-420. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  225 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EXPLORATIONS    IN    ASSYRIA    AND    BABYLONIA, 

1872-1900. 

The  first  impulse  to  excavations  in  Assyria  was 
given  by  a  German  scholar  who  had  established 
himself  in  Paris.  Julius  Mohl  cheered  on  Botta 
to  the  work  of  excavation,  and  kept  him  encour- 
aged while  it  dragged  along.  During  all  the  time 
that  Layard,  Loftus,  and  their  coadjutors  worked 
in  the  field  Mohl  watched  them  from  afar,  and 
carefully  noted  their  successes.  He  was  now  sec- 
retary of  the  Societe  Asiatique  of  Paris,  and  in 
his  annual  reports  he  told  the  society  of  all  that 
had  gone  on  in  the  great  valley  amid  the  graves 
of  ancient  cities.  In  his  report  for  the  year  1855 
his  note  was  distinctively  sad.  He  recorded  the 
fact  that  every  single  expedition  which  had  been 
sent  out  to  dig  had  laid  down  the  work  or  had 
been  recalled.  That  seemed  to  him  a  lamentable 
circumstance,  for  to  his  discerning  eye  the  soil  was 
underlaid  with  monuments  recording  the  whole 
life  of  the  vast  empires  which  had  held  sway  in 
Nineveh  or  in  Babylon.  He  was  impatient  to 
have  the  excavations  resumed,  and  he  called  on 
the  governments  to  take  steps  to  this  end. 

The  future  was  to  confirm  Mohl's  view  fully, 
and  even  more  than  confirm  it,  of  the  vast  treas- 
ures that  lay  buried.    The  time,  however,  for  their 


226     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

excavation  had  not  come  in  the  year  1855.  Nei- 
ther governments  nor  free  peoples  would  carry  on 
excavations  for  antiquities  that  were  mere  un- 
meaning curiosities  when  they  were  found.  That 
work  must  wait  until  the  decipherment  had  reached 
a  sure  result,  and  until  the  work  of  translation 
had  been  so  far  popularized  that  the  results  should 
be  generally  known.  As  a  former  chapter  has 
shown,  the  period  of  doubtful  translations  ended 
and  the  period  of  surely  known  results  began 
in  1857.  It  was  only  necessary  that  these  matters 
should  be  popularized,  and  that  would  require 
some  time.  This  popularization  was,  fortunately, 
carried  on  chiefly,  at  least  in  England,  by  the 
great  masters  themselves.  Rawlinson,  Hincks, 
Talbot,  Norris — a  remarkable  list  of  names,  surely — 
these  were  the  men  who  made  known  in  popular 
papers  or  by  lectures  and  addresses  the  great  dis- 
coveries in  Assyria.  Some  of  these  papers  struck 
the  old  note  of  Shirley,  and  revealed  the  im- 
portance of  Assyrian  studies  for  the  light  they 
were  sure  to  shed  upon  the  Bible.  That  would 
be  certain  to  arouse  interest  in  Great  Britain  and, 
as  before,  might  result  in  the  beginning  of  more 
excavations.  The  sequel  will  show  how  wonder- 
fully this  very  zeal  for  biblical  study  operated  in 
the  stimulating  of  Asspian  research. 

A  boy,  George  Smith  by  name,  destined  for  the 
work  of  an  engraver,  read  in  the  short  spaces  of 
his  crowded  days  the  magic  words  of  Rawlinson 
and  the  other  pioneers,  and  was  moved  to  begin 


EXPLORATIONS,  1872-1900.  227 

the  study  of  Assyrian  himself.  As  he  himself 
witnessess/  he  was  first  roused  to  definite  study 
by  the  interest  of  biblical  history,  and  with  the 
purpose  of  doing  something  for  it,  he  applied  in 
1866  to  Sir  Henry  Kawlinson  for  permission  to 
study  the  original  copies,  casts,  or  fragments  of  in- 
scriptions belonging  to  the  reign  of  Tiglathpileser. 
Rawlinson  gladly  gave  the  permission,  and  Smith 
went  earnestly  to  work.  His  success  was  not 
great  with  these,  but  his  industry  was  rewarded 
by  the  discovery  of  a  new  inscription  of  Shalman- 
eser  with  the  name  of  Jehu  upon  it,  by  which  he 
ascertained  the  year  of  Shalmaneser's  reign  in 
which  Jehu  had  paid  his  tribute.'  In  this  discov- 
ery, the  first  original  work  which  Smith  had  done, 
there  was  one  little  hint  of  use  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment student.  Smith  had  begun  as  he  was  to  go 
on.  After  this  discovery  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson 
was  so  struck  by  the  young  man's  success  that  he 
suggested  his  employment  by  the  British  Museum 
for  work  in  the  new  Assyrian  department.  There 
he  was  established  in  the  beginning  of  1867,  and 

'  Assyrian  Discoveries,  by  George  Smith.     London,  1875,  p.  9. 

^  Smith's  report  of  his  first  discovery  is  so  interesting  in  the  history  of 
Assyrian  study  that  it  is  here  reproduced  entire  : 

'■'■Assyrian  Inscription.  While  examining  part  of  the  Assyrian  collection 
in  the  British  Museum  I  lately  discovered  a  short  inscription  of  Shalman- 
eser  II,  king  of  Assyria,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  Jehu,  king  of  Israel,  sent 
him  tribute  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  reign.  That  he  received  tribute 
from  Jehu  is  well  known  from  the  black  obelisk  inscription,  but  the  date 
of  the  event  has  not  been  previously  ascertained.  This  fact  is  of  chrono- 
logical interest.  I  may  add  that  Jehu  in  this  inscription  is  styled  '  Son 
of  Omri,'  the  same  as  on  the  black  obelisk."  George  Smith. — Athenceum, 
No.  2031,  September  29,  1866,  p.  410. 


228     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

his  success  was  immediate.  In  his  own  survey  of 
his  work  in  the  museum  Smith  remembered  most 
vividly  the  biblical  discoveries,  and  these  were 
they  which  gave  him  his  first  popular  reputation 
and  the  opportunities  of  his  life.  He  found  on 
the  texts  names  and  notices  of  Azariah,  king  of 
Judah,  Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  and  Hoshea,  king  of 
Israel.  These  stirred  his  pulses  and  drove  him  on 
even  at  the  peril  of  his  health.  The  depletion  of 
vital  force  through  constant  and  difficult  work 
was  probably  the  ultimate  cause  of  his  early 
death,  after  the  brilliant  series  of  discoveries  and 
explorations  which  were  now  before  him.  Smith 
possessed  in  unusual  degree  a  gift  for  decipher- 
ment. AVhile  still  feeling  his  way  along  the  intri- 
cate mazes  of  cuneiform  decipherment  there  came 
to  the  Bi'itish  Museum  some  copies  of  the  then  un- 
deciphered  Cypriote  texts.  Dr.  Birch  called  his  at- 
tention to  them,  and  soon  he  was  engaged  in  an  at- 
tempt to  read  them.  On  November  7,  1 871,  he  read 
a  paper  before  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology 
"  On  the  Reading  of  Cypi'iote  Inscriptions."  '  The 
method  which  he  used  was  similar  to  the  plan  of 
Grotefend,  and  it  was  applied  with  wonderful  skill 
and  with  surprising  results.  He  had  picked  out 
the  word  for  king,  though  he  knew  no  Greek  with 
which  to  make  comparisons,  and  had  identified 
forty  out  of  fifty  odd  characters.  A  man  possessing 
genius  of  such  order  was  sure  to  win  fame  in  the 
new  field  of  Assyriology. 

'  Transactioiis  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaology,  i,  pp.  129,  ff. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  229 

From  1867  to  1871  discovery  followed  discov- 
ery until  Smith's  edition  of  the  Asshiirbanapal  in- 
scriptions appeared.  This  volume  made  clear  the 
immense  gain  to  history  fi-om  the  discovery  and 
decipherment  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions,  for  it 
contained  the  accounts  of  the  campaigns  and  of 
the  building  operations  of  Asshurbanapal.  Yet, 
gi'eat  as  all  this  was,  its  influence  fell  far  short 
of  that  of  a  discovery  which  Smith  made  in 
1872.  In  that  year,  while  working  among  some 
fragments  brought  home  by  Rassam,  Smith 
picked  out  a  broken  clay  tablet,  upon  which  he 
soon  read  unmistakable  parallels  to  the  biblical 
account  of  the  deluge.  The  piece  thus  found  was 
soon  followed  by  three  duplicates  and  other  lesser 
fragments.  From  these  he  ascertained  that  the 
part  first  found  was  the  eleventh  in  a  series  of 
twelve  tablets,  and  that  it  gave  the  history  of 
a  great  hero  whom  Smith  called  Izdubar.  He 
published  the  announcement  of  his  discovery, 
and  Asshurbanapal  was  forgotten,  few  probably 
thinking  of  the  great  king  who  had  made  the 
library  out  of  which  these  newly  found  tablets  had 
come.  But  England  did  not  know  how  to  be  calm 
in  the  presence  of  such  a  discovery  as  this.  When 
Smith  had  translated  enough  of  the  tablets  to 
make  a  somewhat  connected  story  of  the  deluge, 
as  the  Babylonians  told  it,  he  read  a  paper  on  the 
subject  before  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology 
on  December  8,  1872.  The  meeting  was  large 
and  enthusiastic.      Sir  Henry  C.  Rawlinson  pre- 


230     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

sided,  Smith  presented  his  trauslation,  and  then 
enthusiasm  had  sway  when  it  was  pointed  out  by 
Dr.  Birch  that  this  had  immense  importance  for 
the  study  of  the  Bible.  Again  was  struck  the  old 
note  of  Shirley,  and  again  that  audience  responded. 
Then  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke,  showing  how  valuable 
all  these  discoveries  were  for  the  study  of  the  ori- 
gins of  Greek  culture,  which  he  said  had  come 
from  the  East  by  way  of  Phoenicia.  This  was  ap- 
preciated, but  it  was  not  exactly  what  the  com- 
pany most  desired  to  hear,  and  to  that  phase  Mr. 
Gladstone's  last  sentence  returned,  concluding  with 
the  magic  word  "  religion." '  The  cheers  broke 
forth  then  with  a  good  will,  and  at  a  late  hour 
the  company  went  away  to  spread  abroad  this 
marvelous  story  of  the  discovery  of  an  early  nar- 
rative which  all  thought  illustrated,  and  many 
believed  confirmed  and  corroborated,  the  biblical 
story  in  Genesis. 

The  government  was  urged  at  once  to  resume 
excavations  on  the  site  of  Nineveh  to  find  more 
material  which  might  illustrate  or  confirm  the 
biblical  narrative.  It  did  not  or  could  not  move 
instantly,  and  the  public    would  not  wait.     The 

'  The  Times  (London),  December  4,  1872,  p.  1.  The  account  of  the 
meeting  given  above  rests  chiefly  upon  the  report  in  The  Times  published 
the  following  day.  Professor  Sayce,  however,  is  inclined  to  think  that  the 
order  of  addresses  in  the  meeting  was  somewhat  different.  Though  not 
present  himself  at  the  meeting,  he  had  spent  the  afternoon  with  Mr. 
Smith,  and  later  had  a  full  account  of  the  meeting  from  Dr.  Birch.  He 
believes  that  it  was  Mr.  Gladstone  who  emphasized  the  importance  of 
these  discoveries  in  their  bearing  upon  the  Bible,  and  that  Dr.  Birch  spoke 
last  and  not  first. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  231 

proprietors  of  the  Daily  Telegraphy  a  widely  circu- 
lated journal,  moved  by  the  editor,  Edwin  Ar- 
nold, perceived  the  opportunity  and  seized  it. 
They  offered  a  thousand  guineas  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  an  expedition  to  Nineveh  on  condition 
that  Smith  should  lead  it,  and  send  letters  to  the 
paper  describing  his  experience  and  discoveries. 
On  January  20,  1873,  a  month  after  Norris's 
death.  Smith  set  out  upon  his  enterprise,  and  on 
March  2  he  reached  Mosul,  ready  to  begin  exca- 
vations. He  soon  found  that  delays  were  the 
order  of  the  day,  and  that  the  firman  had  not  ar- 
rived. He  therefore  made  a  trip  to  Babylon,  and 
on  his  return  began  small  excavations  at  Nimroud, 
April  9.  The  discoveries  made  were  few,  and 
comparatively  unimportant,  and  this  mound  was 
therefore  abandoned,  and  excavations  undertaken 
at  Kuyunjik  on  May  7.  On  May  14  Smith  se- 
cured from  the  same  room  in  which  Rassam  had 
found  Asshurbanapal's  library  a  new  fragment  of 
the  Deluge  story  which  fitted  into  the  ones  pre- 
viously found.  This  fact  was  considered  of  sufii- 
cient  moment  to  be  telegraphed  to  London  for 
publication  in  the  paper.  Smith  was  naturally 
much  pleased  with  the  discovery,  but  was  also  in 
the  highest  degree  gratified  by  the  finding  of  in- 
scriptions of  Esarhaddon,  Asshurbanapal,  and  Sen- 
nacherib. Two  more  fragments  of  the  Deluge 
tablet  were  shortly  afterward  found,  and  then  on 
June  9  the  excavations  were  stopped,  as  the  pro- 
prietors  of  the   Daily    Telegra'ph   were    satisfied 


233     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

with  tlie  discovery  of  the  Deluge  fragments  and 
did  not  wish  to  continue  farther  the  work.  Smith 
was  much  disappointed  at  this  decision,  and  re- 
luctantly left  for  England  at  once  with  his  treas- 
ures. 

He  was,  however,  sent  out  again  from  London  on 
November  25,  1873,  by  the  trustees  of  the  British 
Museum,  who  had  set  apart  one  thousand  pounds 
for  further  excavations  at  Nineveh.  Smith  reached 
Mosul  on  January  1,  1874,  and  immediately  began 
excavations  at  Kuyunjik.  These  were  produc- 
tive of  many  inscriptions  and  of  interesting  archae- 
ological materials,  but  nothing  of  startling  im- 
portance as  regards  the  Bible  was  found.  Smith 
ceased  work  and  left  Mosul  on  April  4. 

"When  compared  with  the  explorations  of  Lay- 
ard  and  Rassam  the  work  of  Smith  was  compara- 
tively small  in  amount,  but  it  was  valuable  in  the 
recovery  of  much  historical  material,  and  its  influ- 
ence upon  public  feeling  and  opinion  in  England 
was  very  great.  Men  were  moved  by  his  spirit, 
no  less  than  by  his  words  and  works,  to  desire 
that  new  excavations  should  be  undertaken.  With- 
out such  inspiration,  it  is  well  to  remember,  the 
work  might  have  ceased  altogether.  The  British 
Museum  again  determined  to  avail  itself  of  Smith's 
services,  and  in  October,  1875,  he  set  out  for 
Oonstantinople  to  seek  to  obtain  a  firman  which 
should  permit  the  resumption  of  his  excavations. 
He  was  harried  w4th  petty  annoyances  by  Turk- 
ish officialdom,  but   at   last  secured   the  coveted 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  233 

permission  and  returned  to  England  to  prepare 
for  his  third  expedition.  In  March,  1876,  he 
again  set  out  for  the  East,  and  proceeded  to  Bagh- 
dad to  inspect  some  antiquities  which  were  of- 
fered for  sale.  It  was  then  his  purpose  to  begin 
excavations,  but  the  plague  had  appeared,  the 
country  was  unsettled,  and  there  was  every  pos- 
sible interference  made  by  natives  and  by  Turk- 
ish officials.  In  previous  expeditious  he  had  not 
learned  how  to  deal  with  orientals,  and  alienated 
their  sympathies  without  impressing  them  by  his 
power.  He  was  also  disturbed  more  or  less  by  a 
quarrel  with  Rassam  and  his  family.  Ignorant  of 
the  laws  of  health,  by  which  Europeans  are  so 
closely  bound  in  the  Orient,  he  worked  too  much, 
rested  too  little,  and  was  careless  in  the  provid- 
ing of  good  food  suitable  for  the  climate.  At 
times  he  rode  for  days  eating  only  crusts  of  bread. 
Beset  behind  and  before  with  difficulties,  and 
not  permitted  to  excavate,  he  had  to  content 
himself  with  visits  to  numerous  mounds,  which  he 
sketched  or  planned.  On  his  way  back  he  fell  ill 
of  fever,  and  died  at  Aleppo,  August  19,  1876. 
Smith's  death  came  to  the  little  world  of  Assyrian 
students  as  a  thunderclap  out  of  a  clear  sky.'  In 
England  he  was  looked  upon  by  scholars  and 
people  alike  almost  as  a  prophet;  in    Germany,' 

'  See  notices  of  his  life  in  The  Academy,  x,  pp.  265,  266  (by  Boscawen). 
The  Athenceum,  No.  2550,  September  9,  18Y6,  p.  338.  See  also  Transac- 
tions of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archceology,  vi,  p.  574.  The  Times,  Septem- 
ber 5,  1876,  p.  4  c. ;  September  7,  1876,  pp.  10,  f. 

'^  Professor  Delitzsch,  who  was  on  very  intimate  terms  with  Smith,  has 
17 


234     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA. 

where  a  new  and  vigorous  school  of  Assyriologists 
had  begun  its  work,  men  were  thrown  into  con- 
fusion by  the  severity  of  the  loss  which  they  felt. 
It  was  indeed  a  sore  blow  to  the  new  study ;  but 
science  dare  not  linger.  The  ranks  closed  up  at 
the  British  Museum  by  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
W.  St.  Chad  Boscawen,  and  the  trustees  sought 
a  man  to  begin  again  the  excavations  which  Smith 
had  laid  down. 

It  was  natural  that  they  should  turn  at  once  to 
Rassam.  It  was  indeed  a  long  time  since  he  had 
worked  in  the  field,  for  he  had  been  absorbed  in 
diplomatic  service.  He  was  now  living  in  retire- 
ment in  England,  but  responded  immediately  to 
the  call  for  service  in  the  same  field  as  that  in 
which  his  earliest  fame  had  been  won. 

In  November,  1876,  Rassam  set  out  for  Con- 
stantinople to  seek  a  firman — the  same  errand 
which  had  cost  Smith  so  many  pangs.  After  a 
fruitless  wait  of  four  months  he  returned  to  Eng- 
land, but  went  out  again  when  Sir  Austen  Henry 
Layard  became  British  ambassador  at  Constanti- 
nople. This  was  indeed  a  fortunate  appointment 
for  Assyrian  studies.  Layard  would  be  justly 
expected  to  exert  himself  to  secure  opportunities 
for  further  excavation  if  that  was  possible.  His 
representations  to  the  Porte  were  successful,  and 
in  November,  1877,  Rassam  was  back  in  Mosul, 

indicated  with  suflScient  clearness  his  own  sense  of  loss  in  the  reprinting 
of  portions  of  Smith's  last  diary  in  his  great  geographical  treatise  {Wo  lag 
das  Parodies  ?  pp.  266,  267). 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  235 

where  he  receiv^ed  by  telegraph  the  news  that  the 
jBrman  was  granted.  His  choice  of  a  site  for  ex- 
cavations was  most  happy.  The  natives  had  been 
finding  at  the  hitherto  unexplored  mound  of  Bala- 
wat,  about  fifteen  miles  east  of  Mosul,  fragments 
of  bronze  plates,  some  specimens  of  which  had 
been  sent  to  him  in  England.  These  he  had 
shown  to  Professor  Sayce,  who  found  the  name  of 
Shalmaneser  upon  them,  discovered  their  impor- 
tance, and  advised  Rassam  to  begin  diggings  at 
that  site.  Sayce  had  thus  come  into  a  relation  to 
Rassam  similar  to  that  held  b}'-  Mohl  in  earlier 
days  to  Botta.  The  result  was  most  successful. 
Kassam  discovered  in  this  mound,  from  which  the 
fragments  had  come,  the  beautifully  inscribed  and 
adorned  bronze  plates  which  had  covered  at  one 
time  the  palace  gates  of  Shalmaneser. 

He  also,  however,  began  excavations  at  Kuyun- 
jik  and  at  Nimroud,  where  small  numbers  of  inter- 
esting inscriptions  were  found.  Rassam  further 
made  extensive  journeys  over  portions  of  Baby- 
lonia, and  among  other  results  identified  the  site 
of  Sippara.  He  visited  Babylon  and  made  some 
small  excavations  there,  returning  then  by  w^ay  of 
Van  to  England.  Though  not  so  rich  in  results 
as  his  former  expedition,  this  last  venture  of  Ras- 
sam helped  on  the  national  collections  of  the  Brit- 
ish Museum,  and  thereby  added  to  the  knowledge 
of  ancient  history. 

While  Rassam  was  busy  a  new  discoverer  ap- 
peared in  the  East  and  very  quietly  began  his 


236     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

work.  M.  Ernest  de  Sarzec  was  appointed  Frencli 
consul  at  Bassorali,  on  tlie  Persian  Gulf,  and  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  in  January,  1877.  He  had 
been  in  Abyssinia  and  had  served  in  Egypt.  He 
knew  the  desert  and  its  people,  and  he  carried  to 
his  new  post  strong  enthusiasm  for  archaeological 
work.  Two  months  after  he  entered  Bassorah 
de  Sarzec  had  bes^un  excavations  at  Telloh — 
a  mound  four  miles  in  length,  lying  in  the 
great  alluvial  plain  of  southern  Babylonia,  about 
five  miles  from  the  banks  of  the  Schatt-el-Hai, 
and  sixty  miles  north  of  Mugheir.  On  this  mound 
de  Sarzec  worked  from  March  5  to  June  11,  1877, 
and  again  from  February  18  to  June  9,  1878.  In 
July,  1878,  he  returned  to  Paris  and  found  himself 
famous.  He  went  again  and  worked  in  the  mound 
from  January  to  March,  1880,  and  also  November 
12,  1880,  to  March  15, 1881.  His  work  was  thus 
prolonged  over  a  considerable  period,  and  instead 
of  merely  running  trenches  hither  and  thither,  he 
dug  systematically  over  a  large  part  of  the  mound. 
The  results  were  full  of  surprises  to  the  guild  of 
Assyrian  students,  and  were  indeed  almost  revolu-. 
tionary.  He  uncovered  a  fine  temple,  whose  outer 
walls  were  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  long 
and  one  hundred  feet  broad,  erected  upon  a  vast 
mound  from  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  high.  The 
outer  wall  was  five  feet  thick,  built  of  great  baked 
bricks  one  foot  square,  bearing  the  name  Goudea. 
These  bricks  were  tightly  fastened  together  by 
bitumen.      In    the   interior   he    found    thirty-six 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  237 

rooms,  chiefly  small  in  size,  though  one  was  fifty- 
five  by  sixty-five  feet.  In  almost  every  room  there 
were  found  objects  of  interest  or  of  instruction 
for  the  study  of  the  history  of  early  Babylonia. 
In  one  room  alone  there  were  found  no  less  than 
eight  diorite  statues,  from  an  early  period  of 
Babylonian  art,  which  had  been  unfortunately 
mutilated  by  some  later  barbarians,  for  all  were 
headless.  The  valuable  inscriptions  were,  how- 
ever, in  perfect  preservation.  In  another  part  of 
the  mound  during  the  very  first  season  there 
were  found  two  beautiful  terra  cotta  cylinders, 
each  twenty-four  inches  in  lengtli  by  twelve  in 
diameter.  Each  of  these  contained  no  less  than 
two  thousand  lines  of  inscription,  forming  thus 
the  longest  inscriptions  from  an  early  period  then 
known.  De  Sarzec's  work  was  done  in  masterly 
fashion,  and  when  the  inscriptions  and  objects  of 
art  were  brought  to  Paris  and  deposited  in  the 
Louvre,  it  was  felt  that  indeed  a  new  era  had 
opened  for  French  archaeological  study.  Quarters 
were  fitted  up  in  the  Louvre,  and  these  objects 
found  a  place  beneath  the  great  roof,  together 
with  the  discoveries  of  Botta,  the  pioneer.  They 
did  not  receive  the  same  acclaim  as  Botta's  dis- 
coveries had  done  in  France,  or  Layard's  in  Eng- 
land, but  they  were  even  of  greater  value  scien- 
tifically. From  the  inscriptions  the  early  language 
of  the  Sumerians  was  more  perfectly  learned,  and 
from  the  statues  and  reliefs  some  faint  idea  was 
first   conceived  of   the  appearance  of  the   great 


238     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

people  who  had  laid  the  foundations  of  civiliza- 
tion in  southern  Babylonia.  That  was  a  distin- 
guished service  which  de  Sarzec  had  rendered. 
It  alone  was  sufficient  to  give  him  high  place  on 
the  roll  of  those  who  had  made  Babylonia  live 
again. 

Again  and  again  since  1881  has  de  Sarzec  re- 
sumed his  work  at  Telloh,  and  every  year  has  he 
brought  forth  from  the  same  mounds  fresh  discov- 
eries of  moving  interest.  In  1894  the  spades  of 
his  workmen  struck  into  a  chamber  from  which 
were  taken  no  less  than  thirty  thousand  tablets — 
a  vast  hoard  of  archives  mostly  of  a  business 
character  and  relating  to  trade,  commerce,  agricul- 
ture, and  industry,  with  a  goodly  number  of  tem- 
ple documents  and  religious  notices.  The  mass  of 
tablets  was  so  great  that  it  was  not  possible  to 
j)rotect  them  from  the  thieving  propensities  of  the 
natives,  and  many  thousands  were  stolen,  to  be 
sold  and  scattered  all  over  the  world  both  in  pub- 
lic museums  and  in  private  hands.  While  this  is 
to  be  deplored,  it  is  perhaps  safe  to  expect  that  in 
the  end  very  few  of  them  will  be  lost  to  science. 
With  this  exception  de  Sarzec  has  been  success- 
ful in  securing  for  the  Louvre  an  important  part 
of  the  brilliant  results  of  his  explorations,  and  the 
end  of  his  work  is  not  yet. 

During  all  this  long  period  of  exploration  and 
excavation,  carried  on  by  almost  all  the  nations  of 
Europe,  there  have  been  developing  in  America 
schools  of  students  of  the  languages,  history,  and 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  239 

religions  of  the  ancient  Orient.  It  was  natural 
that  in  America,  also,  men  should  begin  to  talk  of 
efforts  to  assist  in  the  great  work  of  recovering 
the  remains  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  civiliza- 
tion. In  1884,  at  meetings  of  the  American  Ori- 
ental Society  and  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Literature  and  Exegesis,  conferences  were  held 
upon  this  subject  in  which  Prof essor  John  P.  Peters, 
of  Philadelphia,  the  Rev.  Dr.  "William  Hayes  AVard, 
Professor  Francis  Brown,  and  Professor  Isaac  H. 
Hall,  of  New  York,  and  Professors  C.  H.  Toy  and 
D.  G.  Lyon,  of  Harvard  University,  were  partic- 
ipants. These  and  other  gentlemen  finally  formed 
an  organization,  afterward  connected  with  the 
Archseological  Institute  of  America,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  raising  funds  to  send  out  to  Babylonia  an 
expedition  to  explore  the  country  and  see  where 
excavations  might  profitably  be  undertaken.  Miss 
Catherine  Lorillard  Wolfe,  of  New  York,  gave 
five  thousand  dollai's  to  defray  the  expenses  of  this 
preliminary  exploration,  and  on  September  6, 1884, 
the  Wolfe  expedition  to  Babylonia  departed  from 
New  York.'  The  personnel  of  this  expedition 
consisted  of  Dr.  William  Hayes  Ward,  Mr.  J.  H. 
Haynes,  then  an  instructor  in  Robert  College,  Con- 
stantinople, and  Dr.  J.  R.  S.  Sterrett.     They  trav- 

JSee  "Report  on  the  Wolfe  Expedition  to  Babylonia,  1884-85,"  by 
William  Hayes  Ward,  Papers  of  the  Archceological  Institicte  of  America, 
Boston,  1886,  and  also  "The  Wolfe  Expedition,"  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Ward, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  Journal  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Exegesis, 
June  to  December,  1885,  pp.  56-60.  The  diary  of  Dr.  Ward  is  pub- 
lished in  part  by  Dr.  Peters  in  Nippur,  vol.  i,  Appendix  F,  pp.  318-375. 


240      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

eled  over  rnucli  of  the  land  of  Babylonia,  visiting 
sites  where  excavations  had  previously  been  made, 
as  well  as  scores  of  mounds  that  had  not  yet  been 
examined  by  archaeologists.  Upon  his  return,  in 
June,  1885,  Dr.  AVard  earnestly  recommended 
that  an  expedition  be  placed  in  the  field  to  en- 
gage in  the  actual  work  of  excavation.  He  ad- 
vised that  Anbar  be  the  site  chosen  for  this 
purpose,'  but  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of  the  op- 
portunities in  other  places,  among  them  at  Niffer, 
then  erroneously  identified  with  ancient  Calneh,  of 
which  he  said,  "  There  nothing  has  been  done ; 
it  is  a  most  promising  site  of  a  most  famous 
city."  ■ 

The  report  of  Dr.  Ward  bore  no  immediate 
fruit,  but  the  leaven  was  steadily  working,  and 
efforts  were  proceeding  in  several  directions  to 
secure  funds  to  undertake  excavations.  The  labors 
of  Dr.  John  P.  Peters  at  last  bore  fruit,  and 
an  expedition  was  sent  out  by  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  which  departed  from  New  York 
June  23,  1888.  Of  this  company  Dr.  Peters  was 
director,  and  Professors  Hermann  V.  Hilprecht, 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Robei"t  F. 
Harper,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  were  Assyri- 
ologists,  Mr.  Perez  Hastings  Field,  architect,  and  J. 

'  Journal  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Literature,  p.  60.  On  this  mound 
of  Anbar  compare  a  most  interesting  note  by  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  quoted 
in  Nippur  by  John  P.  Peters.  New  York,  1897,  vol.  i,  pp.  178,  179. 
Eawlinson  reached  the  negative  result  that  Anbar  could  not  be  identified 
with  any  Assyrian  or  Babylonian  site. 

'  Papers  of  the  Archceological  Institute,  Report  of  Dr.  Ward,  p.  29. 


EXPLORATIONS,  1872-1900.  241 

H.  Haynes,  business  manager,  commissary,  and 
photographer.  It  Avas,  however,  long  ere  the  ex- 
pedition could  come  to  its  work.  There  were  the 
usual  delays  in  securing  permission  from  the  Im- 
perial Ottoman  government ;  there  were  difficulties 
in  the  gathering  of  equipment  and  in  the  assem- 
bling of  the  staff;  there  was  a  shipwreck  of  part 
of  the  expedition  on  the  island  of  Samos,  and  per- 
ils of  health  and  of  life  during  the  long  journey 
overland  to  southern  Babylonia.' 

At  last,  on  February  6,  1889,  excavations  were 
begun  on  the  mount  of  Nuifar,  or  Niifer,  the  site 
of  ancient  Nippur,  and  continued  until  April  15, 
with  a  maximum  force  of  two  hundred  Arabs. 
The  difficulties  were  enormous,  for  there  were 
constant  struggles  with  some  of  the  native  tribes, 
with  many  individuals  among  them,  and  with 
sundry  Turkish  officials.  But  in  spite  of  all  this 
the  expedition  made  a  trigonometrical  survey  of 
all  the  mounds  and  won  from  them  more  than 
"two  thousand  cuneiform  tablets  and  fragments 
(among  them  three  dated  in  the  reign  of  King 
Ashuretililani  of  Assyria),  a  number  of  inscribed 
bricks,  teri*a  cotta  brick  stamp  of  Nardm-Sin,  frag- 
ment of  a  barrel  cylinder  of  Sargon  of  Assyria, 
inscribed  stone  tablet,  several  fragments  of  in- 
scribed vases  (among  them  two  of  King  Lugalzag- 
gisi  of  Erech),  door  socket  of  Kurigalzu,  about 
twenty-five  Hebrew  bowls,  a  large  number  of 
stone  and  terra  cotta  vases  of  various  sizes  and 

'  See  the  lively  narrative  of  Peters,  Xippur,  vol.  i,  pp.  1-241. 


242     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

shapes,  terra  cotta  images  of  gods  and  their  an- 
cient moulds,  reliefs,  figurines,  and  toys  in  terra 
cotta,  weapons  and  utensils  in  stone  and  metal, 
jewelry  in  gold,  silver,  copper,  bronze,  and  various 
precious  stones,  a  number  of  weights,  seals,  and 
seal  cylinders."  '  It  is  an  excellent  record,  yet 
to  Dr.  Peters  it  seemed  that  the  first  year's  work 
"was  more  or  less  of  a  failure,  so  far  at  least 
as  Nippur  was  concerned."  *  This  judgment  is 
probably  influenced  by  the  great  difficulties  with 
the  Arabs  which  embittered  the  last  days  of  the 
work.'  It  was  successful,  though  far  surpassed  in 
importance  by  that  which  was  to  follow. 

From  January  14  to  May  3,  1890,  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania  expedition  was  again  at  work 
at  Nippur,  with  Dr.  Peters  as  director,  and  Mr. 
Haynes  as  business  manager,  and  with  a  maxi- 
mum force  of  four  hundred  Arabs.  During  this 
season  about  eight  thousand  inscribed  tablets 
were  taken  from  the  ruins  as  well  as  antiquities  of 
other  kinds  in  large  numbers.*  It  was  a  brilliantly 
successful  year  in  every  particular,  being  also  less 
disturbed  by  troubles  with  the  Arabs  than  the 
former.  All  these  antiquities  were  sent  to  Con- 
stantinople for  the  Imperial  Museum,  though  later 

'  This  summary  of  the  year's  operation  is  quoted  from  Hilprecht,  Old 
Babylonian  Inscriptions,  Chiefly  from  Nippur,  vol.  i,  part  ii.  Philadelphia, 
1896,  p.  8. 

'  Peters,  Nippur,  vol.  i,  p.  vii. 

^  See  Peters,  ibid.,  vol.  i,  chap,  xii ;   The  Catastrophe,  pp.  279,  ff. 

*  See  the  summary  by  Hilprecht  in  Old  Babylonian  Inscriptions,  vol.  i, 
part  ii,  p.  8,  and  compare  the  full  and  entertaining  narrative  of  Peters, 
Nippur,  vol.  ii,  passim. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  243 

considerable  portions  of  them  were  presented  to  the 
museum  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  as  a 
personal  gift  of  the  sultan.  This  gracious  act 
arose  directly  out  of  the  dignified  and  generous 
course  pursued  by  the  authorities  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania.  They  had  honestly  handed 
over  the  antiquities  to  the  Constantinople  author- 
ities, as  indeed  they  had  promised  to  do,  but  had 
gone  much  further  than  this.  Professor  Hilprecht 
was  sent  to  Constantinople  to  catalogue  these 
same  collections  for  the  Imperial  Museum.  This 
work  was  done  with  great  skill,  but  also  with 
such  tact  as  to  call  forth  expressions  of  gratitude 
from  all  who  were  connected  with  the  museum. 
By  gifts  of  antiquities  to  the  museum  in  Phila- 
delphia, of  which  Professor  Hilprecht  was  himself 
a  curator,  the  sultan  aimed  to  repay  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  for  this  free  gift  of  his 
services. 

For  a  time  excavations  at  Nippur  were  inter- 
mitted, but  on  April  11,  1893,  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  had  another  expedition  in  the  field 
under  the  directorship  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Haynes.  Then 
began  one  of  the  most  important  of  all  the  long 
series  of  expeditions  in  Babylonia  or  in  Assyria. 
Haynes  remained  steadily  on  the  ground  at  work 
until  February  15,  1896,  with  a  short  break  from 
April  4  to  June  4,  1894.  Never  before  had  a 
European  ventured  to  carry  on  excavations  through 
a  hot  season.  Professor  Hilprecht  has  not  spoken 
too  cordially  in  saying  that  "  the  crowning  success 


244     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

was  reserved  for  the  unselfish  devotion  and  untir- 
ing efforts  of  Haynes,  the  ideal  Babylonian  ex- 
plorer. Before  he  accomplished  his  memorable 
task,  even  such  men  as  were  entitled  to  an  inde- 
pendent opinion,  and  who  themselves  had  ex- 
hibited unusual  courage  and  energy,  had  regarded 
it  as  practically  impossible  to  excavate  continu- 
ously in  the  lower  regions  of  Mesopotamia.  On 
the  very  same  ruins  of  Nippur,  situated  in  the 
neighborhood  of  extensive  malarial  marshes,  and 
'  among  the  most  wild  and  ignorant  Arabs  that  can 
be  found  in  this  part  of  Asia,' '  where  Layard  him- 
self nearly  sacrificed  his  life  in  excavating  several 
weeks  without  success/  Haynes  has  spent  almost 
three  years  continuously,  isolated  from  all  civilized 
men,  and  most  of  the  time  without  the  comfort  of 
a  single  companion.  It  was  indeed  no  easy  task 
for  any  European  or  American  to  dwell  thirty- 
four  months  near  these  insect-breeding  and  pestif- 
erous Affej  swamps,  where  the  temperature  in 
perfect  shade  rises  to  the  enormous  height  of 
120^  Fahrenheit  (==  c.  39°  Reaumur),  where  the 
stifling  sandstorms  from  the  desert  rob  the  tent 
of  its  shadow  and  parch  the  human  skin  with  the 
heat  of  a  furnace ;  while  the  ever-present  insects 
bite  and  sting  and  buzz  through  day  and  night; 
while  cholera  is  lurking  at  the  threshold  of  the 
camp  and  treacherous  Arabs  are  planning  robbery 

'  Layard,  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  p.  565. 

*  Layard,  I.  c,  pp.  556-562.  "On  the  whole  I  am  much  inclined  to 
question  whether  extensive  excavations  carried  on  at  Niffer  would  produce 
any  very  important  or  interesting  results  "  (p.  562). 


EXPLORATIONS,   1873-1900.  245 

and  murder — and  yet  during  all  these  wearisome 
hours  to  fulfill  the  duties  of  three  ordinary  men. 
Truly  a  splendid  victory,  achieved  at  innumerable 
sacrifices,  and  under  a  burden  of  labors  enough  for 
a  giant ;  in  the  full  significance  of  the  word  a 
7nonumentum  aere  perenniusy ' 

During  the  thii-d  campaign  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  about  twenty-one  thousand  cunei- 
form tablets  and  fragments  were  taken  out  of  the 
mound,  and  besides  these  there  were  found  large 
numbers  of  antiquities  of  other  kinds,  all  of  great 
importance  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  past  his- 
tory of  Babylonia.  Among  these  were  large  num- 
bers of  vases  and  fragments  of  vases  from  the 
very  earliest  period  of  history,  drain  tiles,  water 
cocks,  brick  stamps,  beautiful  clay  coffins  glazed 
in  tile  fashion  and  finely  preserved,  and  diorite 
statues  and  fragments.' 

After  a  brief  and  necessary  interruption,  the 
Philadelphia  expedition  began  work  again  in 
February,  1899,  with  Dr.  J.  H.  Haynes  as  man- 
ager and  Messrs.  Geere  and  Fisher  as  architects. 
In  January,  1900,  Professor  Hilprecht  reached 
Nippur  and  took  charge  as  scientific  director. 
Under  his  direction  "an  extensive  group  of  hills 
to  the  southwest  of  the  temple  of  Bel "  were  sys- 
tematically excavated.  From  the  same  location 
about  twenty-five  hundred  tablets  were  taken  in 

'  Hilprecht,  Old  Bahyloyiian  Inscriptions,  vol.  i,  part  ii,  p.  10. 

"Compare  the  summary  in  Hilprecht,  ibid.,  p.  9.  An  account  of  this 
expedition  by  Mr.  Haynes  himself  has  not  yet  appeared,  though  it  is  un- 
derstood that  one  is  in  contemplation. 


246     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

the  first  campaign,  and  later  excavations  had  in- 
creased the  number  to  about  fifteen  thousand. 
Within  six  weeks  "  a  series  of  rooms  was  exposed 
which  furnished  not  less  than  sixteen  thousand 
cuneiform  documents,  forming  part  of  the  temple 
library  during  the  latter  half  of  the  third  mil- 
lennium B.  C." ' 

From  these  four  campaigns  had  come  a  vast 
store  of  literature  of  all  kinds;  here  were  letters 
and  dispatches,  chronological  lists,  historical 
fragments,  syllabaries,  building  and  business  in- 
scriptions, astronomical  and  religious  texts,  votive 
tablets,  inventories,  tax  lists,  and  plans  of  estates. 
No  expedition  had  ever  been  more  successful  and 
none  had  ever  been  more  warmly  supported  at 
home.  Fortunate  in  its  directors  at  home,  rich  in 
the  scientific  directorate  of  Professor  Hilprecht, 
the  results  attained  have  been  worthy  of  all  the 
expenditure  of  energy,  life,  and  treasure. 

Alone  among  the  greatest  of  the  modern  nations 
Germany  had  done  very  little  in  the  field  of  ex- 
ploration while  other  peoples  had  been  so  busy. 
German  scholarship  had  made  the  highest  contri- 
butions to  decipherment  and  to  the  scientific 
treatment  of  texts  unearthed  by  the  patient  ex- 
plorers sent  out  by  others.  It  were  strange  if 
Germany  should  not  also  seek  to  find  new  tablets  as 
well  as  to  read  them.  Professor  Friedrich  Delitzsch, 
long  an  exponent  of  the   science  of  Assyriology 

'  Hilprecht,  "  Latest  Research  in  Bible  Lands,"  Sunday  School  Times, 
May  5,  1900,  p.  276. 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  247 

and  one  of  the  most  eminent  scholars  of  modern 
times,  urged  the  formation  of  the  German  Orient 
Society,'  which  was  finally  constituted  early  in 
1898. 

Even  before  the  proposed  society  was  organ- 
ized a  "commission  for  the  archaeological  in- 
vestigation of  the  lands  of  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris  "  prepared  to  secure  direct  information  con- 
cerning the  various  sites  which  seemed  to  prom- 
ise the  best  results  when  excavated.  To  this  end 
Professor  Eduard  Sachau,  of  the  University  of 
Berlin,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Robert  Koldewey,  de- 
parted for  the  East  October  23,  1897.  They 
thoroughly  explored  Babylonia  and  Assyria,'  and 
brought  back  abundant  information  for  the  use  of 
the  new  society,  which  was  now  fairly  started. 
To  it  scholars  gave  their  aid,  the  German  Em- 
peror made  a  grant  of  funds,  and  in  the  end  of 
the  year  an  expedition  was  sent  to  the  East  with 
Dr.  Koldewey  as  director  and  Dr.  Bruno  Meissner, 
of  Halle,  as  Assyriologist.  The  latter,  after  very 
useful  service,  retired  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr. 
E.  Lindl,  of  Munich.  In  the  spring  of  1899  work 
was  commenced  in  the  great  mound  of  El-Kasr, 
Babylon,  beneath  which  were  the  remains  of  the 
palace  of  Nebuchadrezzar.  Success  was  had  in 
a  measurable  degree  from  the  very  beginning  in 

'  See  Friedrich  Delitzsch,  Ez  Oriente  Luz  !  Ein  Wort  zur  Forderung 
der  Deutschen  Orient-Gesellschaft.     Leipzig,  1898. 

"^  Am  Euphrat  und  Tigris.  Reisenotizen  aus  dem  winter  1897-1898, 
von  Eduard  Sachau,  mit  5  Kartenskizzen  und  32  Abbildungen.  Leipzig, 
1900,  pp.  160. 


248     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

the  discovery  of  a  new  Hittite  inscription'  and 
of  many  tablets  of  the  neo-Babylonian  period. 
The  future  work,  which  must  continue  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  is  in  good  hands,  for  German  patience 
and  persistence  will  be  certain  to  continue  it  to 
the  end. 

In  1888  there  was  made  in  Egypt  a  most  sur- 
prising discovery  of  letters  and  dispatches  written 
for  the  most  part  in  the  Babylonian  script  and 
language.  A  peasant  woman,  living  in  the 
wretched  little  mud  village  of  Tell-el-Amarna,^ 
on  the  Nile,  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles 
south  of  Memphis,  was  searching  for  antiquities 
among  the  sand  and  stones  by  the  mountain  side 
some  distance  back  from  the  river.  Little  did  she 
know  that  beneath  this  rubbish  lay  all  that  re- 
mained of  the  temple  and  palace  of  the  great 
heretic  king  of  Egypt,  Amenophis  IV,  or,  as  he 
called  himself,  Akh-en-Aten.  Her  concern  was 
only  to  find  some  bits  of  anteeka^  which  might  be 
sold  to  those  strange  people  from  Europe  and 
America,  who  buy  things  simply  because  they  are 


'  Wisseiischaftliche  Veroffentlichungen  der  Deufschen  Orient  GesellscJiaff. 
1  Heft.  Die  Hettitische  Inschrift  gefunden  in  der  Konigsburg  von  Baby- 
lon am  22.  Aiigust  1899  tmd  veroffentlicht  vou  Dr.  Rob.  Koldewey. 
Vorwort  von  Prof.  Dr.  Friedrich  Delitzsch.     Leipzig  1900. 

*  There  is  a  dispute  as  to  whether  the  name  of  the  place  should  be  Tell- 
el-Amarna  or  simply  El-Amarna.  Winckler  has  adopted  the  latter  on  the 
basis  of  a  private  communication  from  Professor  Maspero,  who  asserts 
that  El-Amarna  is  alone  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  natives  on  the  spot. 
To  this  view  also  SteindorfiP  is  inclined,  for  he  writes  "  Tell  el-'Amarna  (or 
better,  El-  'Amarna)  "  (Baedeker's  Egypt,  Leipzig,  1898,  p.  193).  On  the 
other  hand,  Petrie  {History   of  Egypt,  ii,  p.   205),  Budge  {The   TeU-El- 


EXPLORATIONS,  1873-1900.  249 

old.  Out  of  the  mouud  she  took  over  three  hun- 
dred pieces  of  inscribed  tablets,  some  of  them 
only  2i  inches  by  Iji  inches,  while  others  are  8f 
inches  by  41-  inches  and  even  larger.  One  hun- 
dred and  sixty  of  these,  many  of  them  fragments, 
were  acquired  by  Herr  Theodore  Graf,  of  Vienna, 
and  were  purchased  from  him  by  Herr  J.  Simon, 
of  Berlin,  and  presented  to  the  Royal  Museum  in 
the  latter  city.  Eighty-two  were  bought  for  the 
trustees  of  the  British  Museum  by  Dr.  E.  A. 
Wallis  Budge  ;  sixty  came  into  the  possession  of 
the  Gizeh  Museum  in  Cairo,  and  a  few  into  pri- 
vate hands. 

The  documents  thus  restored  to  the  world  are 
to  be  reckoned  with  the  most  important  of  cunei- 
form discoveries.  They  consist  of  letters  and 
dispatches  which  passed  between  Amenophis  III 
and  Amenophis  IV  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other  various  monarchs,  princes,  and  govern- 
ors of  western  Asia,  among  whom  were  Kadash- 
man-Bel  of  Babylonia,  Asshur-uballit  of  Assyria, 
Dushratta  of  Mitanni,  Rib-Adda  of  Byblos,  Abi- 
milki  of  Tyre,  Abdi-Kheba  of  Jerusalem,  and 
many  others.  Their  historical  value  is  great  not 
only  because  of  the  chronological  material  deduci- 
ble  from  them,  but  also  because  they  give  a  note- 


Amarna  Tablets  in  (he  British  Museum,  passim),  and  Sayce,  all  of  whom 
know  the  place  well,  unite  in  reading  Tell-el-Araarna.  Professor  Sayce 
says  in  a  personal  note  to  the  wiiter  :  "  There  is  no  place  called  El-Amarna, 
which  is  the  Egyptian  name  of  a  Bedawin  tribe  (El-Amaran).  But  there  is 
a  Tel  el-Amarna  and  a  Der  el-Amarna,  some  miles  to  the  south  of  the  Tel." 
18 


250     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

worthy  side  light  upon  the  entire  social  relations 
of  the  time.* 

During  the  long  series  of  years  that  excavation 
had  been  earned  on  in  the  East  by  Europe  and 
America  but  little  interest  in  the  subject  was 
aroused  in  Turkey,  in  whose  great  empire  all  these 
finds  were  made.  But  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  period  there  came  a  great  revival  of  enthusi- 
asm for  antiquity  in  Turkey  itself,  due  almost 
entirely  to  the  wisdom,  patience,  and  learning  of 
one  man.  Trained  in  Europe,  a  man  of  fine 
natural  taste  and  of  great  personal  enthusiasm, 
Hamdy  Bey  was  admirably  fitted  for  the  post  of 
director-general  of  the  Imperial  Ottoman  Museum. 
He  has  transformed  it  and  all  its  arrangements 
and  made  certain  a  great  future  for  it.  Ably 
seconded  by  his  brother,  Halil  Bey,  he  gave  great 
and  continued  help  to  the  Philadelphia  expedi- 
tion, and  magnificently  has  his  museum  profited 
thereby.  It  remained  only  that  this  museum,  the 
best  situated  in  all  the  world  to  gain  thereby, 
should  itself  undertake  excavations.  Hamdy  Bey 
succeeded  in  interesting  the  sultan  himself  in  the 
matter  and  inducing  him  to  provide  a  sum  of 
money  from  his  private  purse  to  undertake  exca- 
vations at  Abu-Habba,  the  site  of  ancient  Sippar. 

'  On  the  Tell-el-Amarna  discoveries  in  general  consult  the  valuable  bibli- 
ography in  The  TelUel-Amariia  Tablets  in  the  British  Museum  with  Auto- 
type Facsimiles,  London,  1892,  pp.  Ixxxvii,  ff.,  and  add  to  that  especially 
Winckler,  Ler  Thontafelfund  von  El-Amarna,  Berlin,  1889,  seq.,  and  also 
Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek,  vol.  v.  A  useful  summary  of  the  general 
historical  results  is  given  by  Carl  Niebuhr,  Lie  Amarna  Zeit.  Liepzig,  1899. 


EXPLORATIONS,  1873-1900.  251 

The  director  of  the  expedition  was  the  French 
Dominican,  Father  Scheil,  a  distinguished  Assyri- 
ologist,  who  was  accompanied  by  Bedry  Bey,  who 
had  been  Turkish  commissioner  to  the  Philadel- 
phia expedition,  and  therefore  knew  by  experience 
the  best  method  of  exploration.  The  expedition 
was  completely  successful,  and  in  the  short  space 
of  two  months,  at  a  cost  of  only  three  thousand 
francs,  gathered  a  fine  store  of  over  six  hundred 
and  seventy-nine  tablets  and  fragments,  mostly 
letters  and  contracts  dated  in  the  reign  of  Samsu- 
iluna,  the  son  and  successor  of  Hammurabi,  as  well 
as  many  vases  and  other  objects  similar  to  those 
found  by  the  expedition  at  Nippur.'  Scheil  was 
naturally  supported  by  all  government  officials  in 
the  most  loyal  fashiou,  and  his  success  is  an  interest- 
ing promise  for  the  future.  The  Turkish  govern- 
ment is  able  to  control  its  own  representatives  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  mounds,  and  if  it  is  once 
thoroughly  aroused  to  the  interest  and  importance 
of  excavating  its  untold  buried  treasures  of  art, 
science,  and  literature,  scarcely  any  limits  may  be 
set  to  the  great  results  that  may  be  expected  for 
our  knowledge  of  ancient  Babylonia. 

Besides  these  great  expeditions  other  smaller 
and  less  conspicuous  undertakings  have  frequently 
been  made  to  secure  the  archaeological  treasures 

'  On  this  expedition  and  its  results  see  Notes  by  Scheil  in  Recueil  de 
Travauz  relafi/s  a  la  Philologie  et  a  Varcheologie  Egyptieimes  et  Assyriennes, 
vol.  xvi,  and  especially  Extrait  d'une  lettre  du  P.  Scheil,  ibid.,  p.  184,  and 
compare  the  survey  by  Hilprecht,  Recent  Research  in  Bible  Lands.  Phila- 
delphia, 1897,  pp.  81,  ff. 


252     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

of  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  The  most  successful 
among  these  are  doubtless  the  repeated  oriental 
visits  of  Dr.  E.  A.  Wallis  Budge,  of  the  British 
Museum.  He  has  gone  quietly  into  various  parts 
of  the  East  and,  with  a  thorough  understanding 
of  the  natives,  has  been  able  year  by  year  to  in- 
crease the  collections  of  the  museum.  No  public 
account  of  his  work  has  been  made,  and  no  narra- 
tive of  his  labors  can  therefore  be  given  here. 

Here  rests  for  a  time  tlie  story  of  expeditions  to 
uncover  the  buried  cities  of  Babylonia  and  AssjTia. 
For  a  short  time  only  in  all  probability,  for  the 
gain  has  been  so  large,  the  rewards  so  great,  that 
new  expeditions  must  ever  seek  an  opportunity  to 
labor  in  the  same  fields. 

While  great  expeditions  have  tkeir  periods  of 
labor  and  their  periods  of  rest  one  form  of  ex- 
ploration goes  on  all  the  time  in  spite  of  many 
eftbrts  to  prevent  it.  The  natives  of  the  district 
have  learned  that  antiquities  may  be  sold  to 
Europeans  and  Americans  for  gold.  The  traffic  in 
them  in  Turkey  is  forbidden  by  law,  and  their  ex- 
port from  the  country  is  interdicted.  But  the 
native  digs  on  surreptitiously  and  smuggles  the 
results  into  the  hands  of  merchants,  who  market 
them  in  Baghdad,  London,  and  elsewhere.  This 
practice  brings  into  the  possession  of  museums  and 
so  into  the  hands  of  scholars  hundreds  of  tablets 
that  otherwise  might  long  remain  hidden.  Yet  it 
is  greatly  to  be  deplored,  for  much  is  thus  broken 
by  careless  and  ignorant  handling,  and  the  source 


EXPLORATIONS,   1872-1900.  253 

or  origin,  a  point  of  great  importance,  is  unknown 
or  concealed  from  fear  of  the  government.  It  is 
therefore  on  many  accounts  to  be  hoped  that  the 
Turkish  government  may  ultimately  succeed  in 
preventing  it,  and  may  secure  for  its  own  rapidly 
growing  museum  more  of  the  objects  that  are 
found  by  chance. 

All  that  has  been  found  yet  is  but  a  small  part 
of  that  which  doubtless  lies  buried  beneath  the 
mounds.  Therein  is  an  urgent  call  to  men  of 
Avealth,  to  learned  societies,  and  to  governments  to 
continue  the  work  that  has  already  been  so  mar- 
velously  successful.  The  gaps  that  yet  remain  in 
our  knowledge  of  ancient  Assyria  and  Babylonia 
may  in  large  measure  be  easily  filled  up  by  the 
same  methods  that  have  given  us  our  present 
acquaintance  with  that  mighty  past. 


254    HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  SOURCES. 

The  sources  for  tlie  history  of  the  Babylonians 
and  Assyrians  may  be  grouped  under  four  main 
heads :  I.  The  monumental  remains  of  the  Assyri- 
ans and  Babylonians  themselves;  II.  The  Egyp- 
tian hieroglyphic  texts ;  III.  The  Old  Testament  ; 
IV.  The  Greek  and  Latin  writers. 

Of  these  four  by  far  the  most  important  in 
every  particular  are  the  monumental  remains  of 
the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians. 

I.  The  Monuments  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 
From  the  mounds  that  cover  the  ancient  cities  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria  there  has  come  a  vast 
store  of  tablets,  which  now  number  certainly  not 
less  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  in  the 
various  museums  of  the  world.  These  tablets 
contain  the  literature  of  the  two  peoples,  a  litera- 
ture as  varied  in  form  and  content  as  it  is  vast  in 
extent.  In  the  end  all  of  this  literature  may  be 
considered  as  sources  for  history.  Every  business 
tablet  is  dated,  and  from  these  dates  much  may 
be  learned  for  chronology,  while  even  in  the  tab- 
lets themselves  there  is  matter  relating  to  the 
daily  life  of  the  people,  all  of  which  must  ulti- 
mately be  valuable  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  so- 


THE  SOURCES.  255 

cial  history.  So  also  are  all  religious  texts,  all 
omens  and  incantations,  sources  for  the  study  of 
the  history  of  religious  development.  But  as  we 
are  here  concerned  chiefly  with  political  history, 
the  primary  sources  are  the  so-called  royal  inscrip- 
tions. These  royal  inscriptions  begin  veiy  early 
in  Babylonian  history,  and  then  chiefly  as  mere 
records  of  names  and  titles.  These  early  kings 
caused  their  names  and  titles  to  be  written  in 
some  way  upon  all  their  constructions.  Even 
little  statuettes  and  vases  bear  the  royal  mark, 
while  the  bricks  used  in  the  erection  of  large 
buildings  were  stamped  with  the  king's  name  and 
the  names  of  the  lands  over  which  he  ruled.  Sim- 
ple and  uninteresting  though  these  often  are,  they 
give  the  political  relations  of  lands  and,  in  con- 
nection with  other  materials,  enable  us  to  trace 
out  the  line  of  political  development.  This  style 
of  name  and  title  writing  continues  down  to  the 
fall  of  the  Babylonian  empire.  Alongside  of  it, 
however,  there  was  early  developed  a  narrative 
form  of  royal  inscription,  giving  an  account  of  the 
campaigns  and  conquests  of  the  royal  arms.  These 
narrative  inscriptions  are  of  three  kinds :  1.  Annals ; 
2.  Campaign  inscriptions ;  3.  General  votive  in- 
scriptions. 

In  the  annalistic  inscriptions  the  deeds  of  the 
king  are  an-anged  in  chronological  order  by  years 
of  reign.  Of  all  the  ancient  sources  these  are  by 
far  the  most  important,  for  from  them  we  learn 
the  exact  order  of  events,  often  a  matter  of  first- 


256    HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

rate  importance.  Besides  these  texts  tlie  kings 
have  left  many  inscriptions  in  which  the  events 
are  arranged  in  campaigns.  While  this  second 
class  is  just  as  important  as  the  first  for  the  mere 
statement  of  events,  it  is,  nevertheless,  much  less 
valuable  to  us.  From  the  arrangement  of  cam- 
paigns it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  ascertain  the  ex- 
act order  of  events  in  time,  and  hence  the  sequence 
of  conquests  or  of  defeats.  The  general  or  votive 
inscriptions  begin  usually  v^ith  a  most  elaborate 
ascription  of  titles,  and  with  all  manner  of  boasting 
phrases  concerning  the  king's  prowess.  They 
then  set  forth  the  king's  conquests,  arranged  in 
groups,  and  usually  after  a  geographical  plan. 
The  order  often  widely  departs  from  a  chronologi- 
cal one,  and  as  some  kings  have  left  us  only  texts 
of  this  kind,  it  is  impossible  to  understand  the 
sequence  of  events  during  certain  reigns. 

The  royal  inscriptions  which  describe  battle, 
siege,  and  conquest  are  almost  exclusively  As- 
syrian. The  inscriptions  of  Babylonian  kings 
which  have  come  down  to  us  are  almost  without 
exception  peaceful  in  tone  and  matter.  They  re- 
cord little  else  than  the  erection  of  temples  and 
palaces  or  the  restoration  of  those  which  had 
fallen  into  partial  or  complete  decay.  For  the 
order  of  events  in  their  campaigns  against  other 
peoples  as  well  as  for  the  events  themselves  we 
must  rely  almost  entirely  upon  non-native  sources. 

In  addition  to  these  historical  sources  the 
Babylonians  and  Assyrians  have  left  a  great  mass 


THE  SOUKCES.  257 

of  chronological  material  to  which  we  must  give 
attention  later  (see  Chapter  XII). 

In  respect  of  their  value  as  sources  of  knowl- 
edge these  monumental  remains  can  only  be  said 
to  be  as  valuable  as  the  records  of  other  ancient 
peoples.  They  bear  for  the  most  part  the  stamp 
of  reasonableness.  Often,  indeed,  do  they  contain 
palpable  exaggerations  of  kingly  prowess,  of  vic- 
tories, and  of  conquests.  They  therefore  require 
sifting  and  rigid  criticism.  But  in  most  cases  it 
is  possible  to  learn  from  the  issue  of  the  events 
the  relative  importance  of  them,  and  so  be  able  to 
check  the  measure  of  extravagance  in  the  narra- 
tive. When  subjected  to  the  same  tests  and  tried 
by  the  same  canons  of  criticism  the  Assyrian  and 
Babylonian  monuments  yield  as  just  and  true  a 
picture  of  their  national  history  as  the  sources  of 
Greek  and  Roman  history  to  which  the  world  has 
been  so  long  accustomed. 

The  second  source  is  of  far  less  importance  than 
the  first,  yet  is  at  times  exceedingly  valuable. 

II.  Egyptian  Hieroglyphic  Texts  are  of  very 
slight  importance  as  direct  sources  of  knowledge 
concerning  the  political  history  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  but  they  contain  many  place  and  per- 
sonal names  useful  in  the  elucidation  of  corre- 
sponding names  in  Assyrian  texts. 

The  third  source,  while  more  important  than 
the  second,  is  still  not  so  valuable  as  the  primary 
monumental  source. 

III.  The  Old  Testament.     The  gain  of  the  Old 


358    HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Testament  has  been  greater  from  Assyrian  studies 
than  the  reverse,  though  the  apologetic  value  of 
monumental  testimony  has  often  been  greatly 
exaggerated.  Nevertheless,  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  it  was  interest  in  the  Old  Testament 
which  inspired  most  of  the  early  explorers  and  ex- 
cavators and  some  of  the  earlier  decipherers  and 
interpreters,  and  that  from  the  historical  notices 
in  the  Old  Testament  came  not  a  few  points  for 
the  outworking  of  details  in  the  newly  discovered 
inscriptions.  The  historical  portions  of  the  Old 
Testament  which  are  still  of  importance  as  sources 
for  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  history  are  especially 
2  Kings,  while  of  even  greater  importance,  in  many 
instances,  are  the  prophets  Isaiah,  Nahum,  Jere- 
miah, and  Ezekiel. 

IV.  The  Gi^eek  and  Latin  Writers.  As  sources 
the  Greek  and  Latin  writers  once  held  first  place, 
but  are  now  reduced  to  a  very  insignificant  posi- 
tion by  the  native  monumental  records.  Never- 
theless, they  still  retain  some  importance,  and  need 
constantly  to  be  used  to  check  and  control  the 
native  writers  as  well  as  to  assist  in  the  ordering 
of  their  more  detailed  materials.    . 

First  in  importance  among  all  the  classical 
writers  stands  Berossos,  or  Berosos,  for  so  the 
name  is  also  transliterated  into  Greek.  He  was  a 
Babylonian  by  origin,  and  a  priest  of  the  great 
god  Bel.  The  date  of  his  birth  and  of  his  death 
are  equally  unkuowm,  but  it  is  clear  that  he  was 
living  in  the  days  of  Alexander  the  Great  (356- 


THE  SOURCES.  259 

323  B.  C.),'  and  continued  to  live  at  least  as  late 
as  Antiochus  I  Soter  (280-261  B.  C).  He  wrote 
a  great  work  on  Babylonian  history,  the  title  of 
which  was  probaby  Babyloniaca,  though  it  is  also 
referred  to  under  the  title  of  Chaldaica  by  Jo- 
sephus  and  Clemens.  It  was  dedicated  to  his 
patron,  Antiochus  I  Soter.  The  Babyloniaca  was 
divided  into  three  parts,  of  which  the  first  dealt 
with  human  history  from  the  chaos  to  the  flood, 
the  second  from  the  flood  to  Nabonassar,  and  the 
third  from  Nabonassar  to  Alexander.  The  first 
two  consisted  only  of  lists  of  kings  without  any 
proper  historical  narrative,  while  with  the  third 
began  the  real  story  of  events. 

Both  lists  and  narrative  of  Berossos  could  not 
fail  to  be  of  considerable  moment  to  us,  if  we  had 
them  in  even  fairly  well  preserved  form.  Unhap- 
pily, however,  the  original  work  has  perished,  and 
all  that  remains  are  excerpts  which  have  come  to 
us  after  much  copying  and  many  transfers  from 
hand  to  hand.  The  history  of  these  fragments  is  a 
very  curious  example  of  book  making  in  antiquity. 
In  the  Mithradatic  war  a  certain  Alexander  of  Mile- 
tus was  taken  prisoner  and  carried  to  Rome  as  the 
slave  of  Lentulus,  from  whom  he  received  the  name 
of  Cornelius.  In  82  B.  C.  he  received  the  Roman 
citizenship  and  lived  in  Rome  with  some  distinc- 
tion as  a  man  of  letters.  There  he  wrote  an 
enormous  number  of  books  relating  to  ancient 
history,  and  on  that  account  received  the  name  of 

'See  Eusebius,  Chronica,  ed.  Alfred  Schoeue.    Berlin,  1875,  p.  11. 


260     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Polyhistor.'  The  period  of  his  greatest  clistinc. 
tion  and  productivity  was  between  70  and  60  B.  C. 
His  historical  works  were  simply  excerpts  from 
the  writings  of  his  predecessors,  and  in  this  man- 
ner he  compiled  a  history  of  Assyria,  the  exact  title 
of  which  is  not  now  known.  This  history  was 
made  up  of  extracts  from  Berossos,  ApoUodoros, 
Chronica,  and  the  third  book  of  the  Sibyllines,  and 
was  worked  over  into  pseudo-Ionic  Greek  by  Aby- 
denos.  It  came  also  into  the  hands  of  Josephus  and 
of  Eusebius.  Josephus  was  seeking  especially  those 
parts  of  the  history  which  illustrated  the  history 
of  the  Jews,  and  naturally  took  from  Alexander 
only  those  parts  which  were  suitable  for  his  pur- 
pose. In  like  manner,  also,  Eusebius  copied  only 
portions.  By  this  process  we  have  preserved  in 
Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  and  in  Euse- 
bius, Chronica,  small  parts  of  the  great  work  of 
Berossos,  while  the  dynasties  have  come  down  to 
us  from  George  the  Synkellos.  Wherever  we  can 
secure  enough  of  Berossos  to  compare  with  the 
native  monumental  sources  we  find  most  remarka- 
ble agreement  with  them.  From  Berossos  but 
little  is  to  be  learned  of  direct  value,  but  the  sup- 
port which  we  gain  from  these  fragmentary  re- 
mains for  the  general  course  of  the  history  is  very 

'  On  the  life  of  Alexander  Polyhistor  compare  J.  Freudenthal,  Hellen- 
istische  Studien,  Heft  I,  Alexander  Polyhistor  und  die  voti  ihm  erhaltenen 
Reste  jiidischer  und  samaritanischer  Oeschichtswerke.  Jahresbericht  dea 
iiidisch-theologischen  Seminars,  Breslau,  18*74,  p.  17,  and  the  further  ref- 
erences there  given  in  footnote,  especially  Ranch,  De  Alexandri  Polyhistoris 
vita  atque  scriptis.     Heidelberg,  1 843. 


THE  SOURCES.  261 

great.  As  will  later  appear,  clironological  material 
of  much  complexity  and  difficulty  is  obtained 
from  certain  parts  of  these  fragments. 

The  next  Greek  writer  who  comes  before  us  as 
a  possible  source  is  Ktesias.  He  was  a  contem- 
porary of  Xenophon,  and  was  born  of  the  family 
of  the  Asclepiadse  at  Cnidus.  He  wandered 
thence  in  B.  C.  416  to  the  court  of  Persia  and  be- 
came body  physician  to  King  Artaxerxes  Mnemon, 
whom  he  cured  of  a  severe  wound  received  in  the 
battle  of  Cunaxa,  B.  C.  401.  In  399  he  returned 
to  his  native  city,  and  in  the  ease  thus  achieved 
proceeded  to  work  up  into  historical  form  the 
materials  he  had  collected.  He  wrote  in  twenty- 
three  books  a  history  of  Persia  {liegoiKd)  in  the  Ionic 
dialect.  The  first  six  books  treated  the  history  of 
Assyria,  and  the  rest  the  history  of  Persia  down 
to  his  own  time,  in  which  he  claims  to  have  used 
the  royal  annals  of  the  Persian  kings  {dtcpdigai 
^aaiXiKai).  His  work  was  extensively  used  in  the 
ancient  world,'  and  wherever  quoted  became  at 
once  the  object  of  sharp  controversy.  He  was  ac- 
cused of  being  untrustworthy  and  indifferent  to 
truth,  and  the  charges  and  the  controversy  con- 
tinue until  to-day.  The  severity  of  the  judg- 
ments' against  him  probably  arise  partly  out  of 


'  Gilmore,  TJie  Fragments  of  the  Persika  of  Ktesias,  London,  1888, 
pp.  2,  3,  names  no  less  than  thirty-four  writers,  among  them  Strabo, 
Plutarch,  and  Xenophon,  who  have  preserved  portions  of  Ktesias. 

'  As  a  specimen  of  a  sharp  modern  judgment  upon  him,  both  personally 
and  as  an  author,  one  may  refer  to  Marcus  v.  Niebuhr,  Oeschichte  Assures 


262     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

the  acrimonious  manner  in  whicli  he  attacked 
Herodotus,  and  partly  out  of  the  fact  that  he  used 
Persian  sources  for  his  history.  In  the  years 
of  his  Persian  residence  he  had  so  completely 
absorbed  the  Persian  point  of  view  as  to  seem 
hardly  just  to  the  Greek  conception  of  their  his- 
tory in  its  relations  to  the  Persians.  If  we  subject 
to  modern  criticism  the  fragments  of  his  history 
that  remain,  our  judgment  must  be  that  the  first 
six  books,  relating  to  the  early  history  of  Assyria, 
are  valueless.  Whether  this  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  unable  himself  to  read  the  sources 
which  he  used,  and  was  therefore  obliged  to  rely 
upon  the  word  of  others  to  tell  him  the  story 
found  in  them,  or  that  he  must  be  accused  of 
actually  inventing  and  setting  forth  as  history  an 
entertaining  mass  of  empty  fables,  will  probably 
never  be  decisively  determined.  The  books  them- 
selves have  perished.  Only  fragments  of  them 
survive  in  the  quotations  by  Diodorus  and  Euse- 
bius  and  others,  and  in  an  epitome  by  Photius.' 
For  our  purposes  they  scarcely  come  into  the  ques- 
tion at  all. 

uyid  BabeVs.  Berlin,  1857,  pp.  289,  ff.  While  as  a  specimen  of  a  more 
favorable  judgment  see  Sayce,  The  Ancient  Empires  of  the  East,  Herod, 
otus,  i-iii,  London,  1883,  p.  xxxiii:  "It  is  certain  that  he  (Ktesias)  was 
justified  in  claiming  for  his  history  the  authority  of  Persian  documents, 
and  that  many  of  the  charges  of  falsehood  brought  against  him  must  be 
laid  not  upon  him,  but  upon  his  Eastern  friends.  His  history  of  Assyria 
is  much  like  the  Egyptian  history  of  mediaeval  Arab  writers,  clothed  only 
in  a  Greek  dress;"  and  also  Paul  Rost,  Untersuchungen  zur  altorieiital. 
tschen  Geschichfe,  pp.  109,  110.  Mittheilungen  der  Vorderasiatischen 
Gesellschaft,  1892,  2,  Berlin. 
^See  Gilmore,  op.  cit.,  passim. 


THE  SOUKCES.  263 

Last  of  all  among  tlie  classical  winters  we  come 
to  Herodotus,  the  father  of  histoiy.  Of  the  value 
of  his  works  as  a  source  very  diverse  opinions 
have  been  and  are  still  held.  From  him  surely 
much  was  expected.  Born  in  Halicarnassus,  in 
Caria,  B.  C.  484,  he  had  associations  with  the 
greatest  men  of  his  time,  and  apparently  planned 
his  histoiy  with  skill  and  care.  He  desired  to  tell 
of  the  famous  events  in  the  struggle  between  the 
Greek  and  the  barbarian,  and  of  the  causes  which 
led  to  the  Persian  war.  He  traveled  extensively 
in  the  East,  and  there  is  some  reason  to  believe 
that  these  journeys  were  undertaken  with  a  view 
to  the  gathering  of  materials  for  his  history. 
Egypt  he  visited,  but  there  is  doubt  whether  he 
traversed  the  whole  country  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  Elephantine.  There  is  still  more  doubt 
concerning  his  travels  beyond  the  confines  of 
Egypt.  He  certainly  attempts  to  leave  the  im- 
pression, even  when  he  does  not  specifically  so 
state,  that  he  also  visited  Tyre,  on  the  Syrian 
coast,  that  he  penetrated  to  Babylon  and  thence 
to  Nineveh,  to  Ecbatana,  and  perhaps  even  to 
Susa.  Professor  Sayce  has  attempted  to  prove, 
with  much  learning  and  great  acuteness,  that  "  he 
never  visited  Assyria  and  Babylonia," '  and  asserts 
that  "he  stands  convicted  of  never  having  visited 
the  district  he  undertakes  to  describe,'"  and  con- 
cludes with  the  statement  that  "the  long  contro- 

'  Sayce,  Ancient  Empirea  of  the  East,  p.  xxviii. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  xxix. 


2U     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

versy  wliich  has  raged  over  the  credibility  of 
Herodotus  has  thus  been  brought  to  an  end  by 
the  discoveries  of  recent  years."  '  That  Professor 
Sayce  has  proved  upon  Herodotus  a  host  of  in- 
accuracies, some  travelers'  tales,  and  has  effectually 
disposed  of  his  claims  to  rank  as  an  independent 
source  of  ancient  history  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
Yet  that  in  this  case,  as  in  other  similar  modern 
judgments,  there  is  an  excess  of  skepticism  is  per- 
haps no  less  true.  There  is  good  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  Herodotus  had  really  visited  Babylon, 
for  the  topographical  details  which  he  gives  bear 
frequently  the  stamp  of  an  eyewitness.'  The  main 
fact,  however,  remains  that  from  Herodotus  but 
little  of  historical  value  may  be  learned,  save  as 
every  single  fact  is  checked  by  the  explicit  state- 
ments of  native  monumental  historians.' 

After  these  there  remain  among  classical  writ- 
ers few  who  deserve  to  be  mentioned  as  sources. 
The  chronological  materials  left  by  some  of  them, 
as,  for  example,  the  earlier  parts  of  Berossos  and 

'  Ibid.,  p.  xxxiii. 

^  See,  for  example,  Baumstark  in  Pauly-Wissowa,  Meal  Encijclopddie  der 
class.  Wissenschaft,  Stuttgart,  n.  d.,  col.  2689.  "  Seine  Angaben  iiber  B. 
sind  die  einzigen  uamittelbar  und  voUstandig  auf  uns  gekommenen  aus 
der  gesamten  griechischen  Litteratur  vorchristlicher  Zeit.  Dass  sie  im 
wesentlichen  auf  Augenschein  beruhen,  ware  besser  niemals  bestritten 
worden." 

*  For  a  careful  assembling  of  the  valuable  references  in  Herodotus  and  a 
comparison  of  the  native  sources  see  J,  Nikel,  Herodot  und  die  Keilschrift- 
forschung,  Paderborn,  1896,  and  add  also  Herodotus  and  the  Empires  of  the 
East,  based  on  Nikel's  Herodot  und  die  Keihchriftforschung,  by  Herbert 
Cushing  Tolman,  Ph.D.,  and  James  Henry  Stevenson,  Ph.D.  New  York, 
n.  d.     (1899). 


THE  SOURCES.  265 

the  exceedingly  valuable  Canon  of  Ptolemy,  will 
have  to  be  estimated  later  (see  Chapter  XII). 

From  a  few  other  less-known  writei*s,  such  as 
Kleitarchos,  Arrian,  Hieronymos  of  Kardia,  and 
an  unknown  writer  concerning  Alexander  the 
Great  (Onesikritos),  certain  topographical  details 
are  learned. 

Our  judgment  of  all  the  classical  writers  must 
be  that  their  value  is  entirely  subordinate  to  the 
native  sources,  and  not  so  valuable  as  the  notices 
in  the  Old  Testament  or  the  brief  words  from  the 
Egyptian  hieroglyphic  texts. 

19 


266     BISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   LANDS   OF  BABYLONIA    AND   ASSYRIA. 

The  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  peoples  had 
their  seat  in  a  great  valley  with  but  one  distinct 
and  sharp  natural  boundary.  This  clear  bound- 
ary was  the  Persian  Gulf  upon  the  south,  which 
said  to  all  landsmen,  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou  come 
and  no  farther."  That  boundary  these  peoples 
respected  and  never  ventured  out  on  the  troubled 
and  mysterious  waters.  On  the  east  the  boundary 
between  them  and  their  next  neighbors  was  fluctu- 
ating and  uncertain.  The  natural  boundary  would 
seem  to  be  the  mountains  of  Elam,  but  these 
mountains  slope  gradually  westward  to  the  plain, 
and  do  not  rise  precipitously  from  it.  Down 
these  slopes  poured  hordes  of  men  in  all  ages,  and 
there  was  no  sharp  line  of  defense  to  keep  them 
from  the  valley,  while  on  the  other  hand  the 
people  of  the  valley  were  often  filled  with  con- 
quering power  sufficient  to  extend  their  border 
fi^r  up  the  slopes  into  Elam.  On  the  north,  also, 
the  boundary  was  almost  equally  uncertain.  The 
mountains  of  Armenia  might  be  regarded  as  the 
natural  border  on  the  north,  but  these  are  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  great  valley,  for  they 
belong  to  the  drainage  system  of  the  Euphrates  and 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRL\.       267 

the  Tigris,  and,  like  the  mountains  of  Elam,  slope 
more  gently  toward  than  from  the  valley.  On 
the  north,  therefore,  as  on  the  east,  the  lands  of 
Assyria  and  of  Babylonia  were  open  to  incursion 
from  the  outside,  or  to  raids  from  within  outward. 
The  Avestern  border  was  still  more  indefinite.  In 
the  northwest  the  valley  land  swept  away  in  a 
gentle  rise  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  plateau  of 
Aram,  and  over  it  even  to  the  Mediterranean. 
AVhile  upon  the  southwest  the  desert  formed  the 
only  barrier  between  the  valley  and  Arabia  or 
the  lands  of  the  Jordan  valley.  Nomadic  peoples 
passed  over  this  barrier  with  ease,  and  became 
powerful  factors  in  the  history  of  the  Babylo- 
nians. On  the  other  hand,  however,  the  Babylo- 
nians did  not  readily  pass  the  broad  line  of  the 
desert. 

Within  this  roughly  bounded  country  two  great 
empires  existed  for  centuries,  and  the  dividing 
line  between  them  moved  up  and  down  the  valley 
as  the  power  of  either  became  stronger  than  that 
of  the  other.  Nature  had  set  no  boundary  be- 
tween them,  for  the  whole  valley  lay  open  from 
north  to  south.  Yet,  though  this  is  true,  there  have 
existed  from  remote  times  separate  provinces  in 
the  valley,  with  more  or  less  definite  boundaries 
between  them.  If  we  begin  in  the  south,  these 
separate  provinces  may  thus  be  described:  Close 
to  the  Persian  Gulf  was  a  small  country,  the 
country  of  the  Sea  Lands,  the  influence  of  which 
was  marked   in  the  early   history  of  the    w^hole 


268     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

valley.  The  country  of  the  Sea  Lands  was  en- 
tirely alluvial,  and  small  in  extent.  Through  it 
in  early  times  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates 
passed  by  separate  estuaries  into  the  Persian  Gulf. 
Later,  though  at  what  time  is  unknown,  the  two 
rivers  united  and  began  to  flow  through  one 
channel  into  the  sea.  This  alluvial  territory  is 
now  growing  by  the  river  deposits  at  the  rate  of 
about  a  mile  in  seventy  years,  and  there  is  good 
reason  for  believing  that  its  average  growth  in 
historic  time  has  been  not  less  than  a  mile  in  thirty 
years.  If  the  ratio  of  increase  has  been  as  high 
as  this,  the  country  of  the  Sea  Lands  was  a  very 
small  land  during  the  period  4000-600  B.  C. 
Above  it  geographically  lay  the  land  of  the 
Kaldi,  likewise  alluvial,  and  extending  northward 
nearly  to  the  city  of  Babylon.  It  has  also  no  line 
of  clear  separation  from  the  Sea  Lands,  nor  from 
Babylonia  to  the  north.  As  kings  from  the  Kaldi 
country  later  ruled  in  Babylon  and  had  control 
over  the  whole  vast  empire,  of  which  it  was  the 
capital,  the  name  of  Chaldea  was  extended  by 
Greek  and  Roman  historians  so  as  to  include  the 
whole  of  Babylonia.  Next  above  the  land  of  the 
Kaldi  was  Babylonia  itself,  which  extended  north- 
ward along  the  valley,  with  two  exceptions,  to 
the  Armenian  mountains.  These  exceptions  were 
the  original  lands  of  Assyria  and  Mesopotamia. 
Assyria,  in  its  original  geographical  and  historical 
sense,  was  the  small  triangular-shaped  land  lying 
between  the  Tigris  and  the  Zab  Rivers  and  the 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        2G9 

Median  mountains.  When  the  Assyrians  gained 
in  power  and  numbers  they  soon  extended  their 
dominion  beyond  these  very  narrow  boundaries, 
and  with  their  dominion  went  likewise  the  geo- 
graphical name,  so  that  even  in  early  times  the 
name  Assyria  had  been  carried  westward  to  the 
Euphrates  and  southward  as  far  as  Hit,  while  to 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  it  covered  the  entire 
valley.'  The  other  separate  land  or  province 
was  the  small  country  included  between  the  Eu- 
phrates and  the  Khabur  Rivers  and  the  moun- 
tains of  Armenia.  This  was  the  land  known  as 
Nahrina,  the  Aram-Naharaim '  of  the  Hebrews, 
and  the  Mesopotamia  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
Unhappily  this  name  of  Mesopotamia  was  ex- 
tended to  cover  the  territory  between  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates  southward  even  to  the  Persian 
Gulf.  This  completely  destroys  the  historical  no- 
menclature, and  introduces  a  confusion  that  does 
not  appear  in  any  of  the  records  of  either  the  As- 
syrians or  Babylonians. 

For  this  country  between  the  Tigris  and  Eu- 
phrates, including  Assyria,  Mesopotamia,  Baby- 
lonia, Chaldea,  and  the  Sea  Lands,  the  ancient 
inhabitants    had   no  general  geographical    name. 

'  That  ?}  Aaavpia  means  the  whole  of  the  valley, including  Babylonia, appears 
from  its  regular  use  by  Herodotus  (for  example,  i,  178,  185 ;  iii,  92,  and  iv, 
39).  It  is  used  in  the  same  manner  also  by  Xenophon  {Ci/ropcedeia,  ii,  1,  5.) 
^  Gen.  xxiv,  10  ;  Deut.  xxiii,  5.  There  seems  good  reason  for  the  view- 
that  it  ought  to  be  written  Aram-Naharim,  that  is,  plural  not  dual.  (See 
W.  Max  Miiller,  Asien  nnd  Europa  nach  altdgyptischen  Detikmdlern, 
Leipzig,  1893,  pp.  249-255,  and  compare  Budde,  Das  Buck  der  Jticht")', 
on  Judg.  iii,  8,  and  Moore  on  same  passage.) 


270     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

The  geographical  terminology  varied  with  the  rise 
and  fall  of  political  power.  There  were,  however, 
certain  clear  exceptions  to  this  general  rule.  For 
example,  the  name  Assyria  was  never  extended  so 
as  to  cover  Babylonia  proper,  though  it  is  ex- 
tended so  far  westward.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
name  Babylonia  is  carried  so  far  north  as  almost 
to  include  Assyria,  though  the  small  original  land 
of  Assyria  appears  always  to  be  kept  sharply  dis- 
tinguished. The  general  term  of  the  Assyro- 
Babylonian  valley  may  properly  be  used  to  cover 
all  the  country. 

Though  the  word  Mesopotamia  was  never  ap- 
plied by  either  Assyiians  or  Babylonians  to  their 
country,  yet  it  is  in  a  real  sense  the  product  of 
two  rivers,  in  a  sense  almost  as  complete  as  that 
Egypt  is  the  product  of  the  Nile. 

The  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates  have  their  sources 
upon  opposite  sides  of  the  same  mountain  range. 
This  is  the  highest  ridge  between  the  Black  Sea 
and  the  great  valley,  and  the  only  one  which  has 
peaks  bearing  perpetual  snow — hence  known  to  the 
ancient  Greeks  as  the  Niphates.  From  its  western 
side  the  Euphrates  flows  westward  to  Malatiyeh, 
as  though  to  lose  itself  in  the  Mediterranean.  But 
at  Malatiyeh  the  course  is  suddenly  changed  to 
the  southeast,  passing  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
source  of  the  Tigris  at  Lake  Goljik,  thence  forcing 
its  way  through  the  mountains  in  a  tortuous 
course.  Thence  its  course  is  generally  southeast 
until   opposite  Baghdad,  where  it  approaches  to 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRL\.        371 

within  twenty  miles  of  the  Tigris,  and  the  rivers 
appear  about  to  form  a  junction.  Both,  however, 
again  separate,  and  only  make  their  final  union  at 
last  after  a  very  sharp  convergence.  The  esti- 
mated length  of  the  Euphrates  is  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles.  It  is  navigable  for  a  dis- 
tance of  twelve  hundred  miles  above  its  mouth. 
During  its  whole  course  it  is  an  imposing  river — 
among  the  greatest  rivers  of  the  world.  Like 
most  mountain  streams,  its  early  coiirse  is  swift 
and  its  bed  rocky.  Its  first  great  tributary  is  the 
Kara  Su — that  is,  the  Black  Water — at  Keban- 
Maaden,  a  few  miles  west  of  Kharpoot.  Its  next 
afiluent  is  the  Sajur,  received  from  the  right,  or  west. 
This  is  followed  by  the  Balikh,  which,  in  a  course 
of  only  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  brings  the 
water  from  Mount  Masius.  The  next  is  the  Khabur, 
also  received  from  the  left,  which  brings  another 
considerable  body  of  water  also  from  the  lower 
slopes  of  Mount  Masius.  From  this  point,  for 
eight  hundred  miles  until  the  junction  with  the 
Tigris,  the  Euphrates  receives  no  tributaries  what- 
ever. It  has  been  well  said  that  the  "upper 
region  of  the  Euphrates  resembles  that  of  the 
Rhine,  while  its  middle  course  may  be  compared 
with  that  of  the  Danube,  and  its  lower  with  the 
Nile."  ' 

The  Tigris  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  two 

'  Colonel  Chesney  says,  "  In  some  respects  the  scenery  of  the  Euphrates 
reminded  me  of  that  of  parts  of  the  Nile,  though  far  exceeding  the  latter  in 
picturesque  effect "  {Xarraiive  of  the  Euphrates  Expedition.  London,  1868, 
p.  70). 


272     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

small  head  streams,  the  eastern  rising  near  Bitlis, 
not  far  from  the  western  bank  of  Lake  Van,  while 
the  western  comes  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Kharpoot.  Unlike  the  Euphrates,  the  Tigris  re- 
ceives many  important  tributaries,  which  flow 
down  from  the  Zagros  and  Elmatine  mountains. 
The  first  important  one  of  these  is  the  Eastern 
Khabur,  after  which  in  rapid  succession  follow 
the  Upper  Zab,  the  Lower  Zab,  the  Adhem,  and 
the  Diyaleh.  This  constant  accession  of  fresh 
water  gives  the  Tigris  a  character  entirely  differ- 
ent from  the  Euphrates.  The  Euphrates  continu- 
ally decreases  in  size  and  flows  ever  in  a  more 
sluggish  stream.  When  it  receives  the  Khabur  it 
is  four  hundred  yards  wide  and  eighteen  feet  deep ; 
at  Irzah  or  Werdi,  seventy-five  miles  lower  down, 
it  is  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  and  of 
the  same  depth;  at  Hadiseh,  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles  below  Werdi,  it  is  three  hundred  yards 
wide,  and  still  of  the  same  depth ;  here  its  current 
is  four  knots  per  hour  in  the  flood  season,  but  this 
speed  diminishes  within  the  next  fifty  miles;  at 
Hit,  fifty  miles  below  Hadiseh,  its  width  has  in- 
creased to  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  but  its 
depth  has  been  diminished  to  sixteen  feet;  at 
Felujiah,  seventy-five  miles  from  Hit,  the  depth  is 
twenty  feet,  but  the  width  had  diminished  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  yards.  From  this  point  the 
contraction  is  very  rapid  and  striking.  The  Sak- 
lowijeh  Canal  is  given  out  upon  the  left,  and  some 
way  further  down  the  Hindiyeh  branches  off  upon 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRL\.        273 

the  riglit,  each  carrying,  when  the  Euphrates  is 
full,  a  large  body  of  water.  The  consequence  is 
that  at  Hillah,  ninety  miles  below  Felujiah,  the 
stream  is  no  more  than  two  hundred  yards  wide 
and  fifteen  feet  deep;  at  Diwaniyeh,  sixty-five 
miles  further  down,  it  is  only  one  hundred  and 
sixty  yards  wide ;  and  at  Lamlun,  twenty  miles 
below  Diwaniyeh,  it  is  reduced  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  yards  wide,  with  a  depth  of  no  more 
than  twelve  feet.  Soon  after,  however,  it  begins 
to  recover  itself.  The  water,  which  left  it  by  the 
Hindiyeh,  returns  to  it  upon  the  one  side,  while 
the  Schatt-el-Hai  and  numerous  other  branch 
streams  flow  in  upon  the  other;  but  still  the 
Euphrates  never  recovers  itself  entirely,  nor  even 
approaches  in  its  later  course  to  the  standard  of 
its  earlier  greatness.  The  channel  from  Kurnah 
to  El  Khitr  was  found  by  Colonel  Chesney  to  have 
"  an  average  width  of  only  two  hundred  yards,  and 
a  depth  of  about  eighteen  or  nineteen  feet,  which 
implies  a  body  of  water  far  inferior  to  that  carried 
bet-ween  the  junction  of  the  Khabur  and  Hit." 

The  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates  have  both  flood 
seasons  and  carry  their  waters  over  a  wide  extent 
of  country,  exactly  as  the  Nile.  This  fact  is  so 
perfectly  clear  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  con- 
cerning it,  though  Herodotus  directly  asserts  the 
contrary,  saying,  "  The  river  does  not,  as  in  Egypt, 
overflow  the  corn  lands  of  its  own  accord,  but  is 
spread  over  them  by  the  help  of  engines." '     The 

'  Herodotus,  i,  193. 


274     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

rise  is  indeed  not  so  prolonged  as  the  rise  of  the 
Nile,  but  its  influence  is,  nevertheless,  distinctly  to 
be  seen.  The  rise  in  the  Tigris  is  due  to  the 
melting  of  the  snows  on  the  mountains,  and  as  it 
drains  the  southern  slopes,  and  the  Euphrates  the 
northern  slopes,  the  Tigris  rises  more  rapidly. 
The  Tigris  usually  begins  to  rise  early  in  March. 
By  the  first  or  second  week  in  May  the  highest 
point  is  reached,  and  the  river  then  declines  rap- 
idly and  reaches  its  level  at  about  the  middle  of 
June.  As  the  course  of  the  Tigris  during  the 
entire  upper  part  of  its  course  is  between  banks  of 
considerable  height,  the  river  rarely  overflows. 
On  its  lower  coui-se,  however,  and  especially  be- 
tween the  thirty-second  and  thirty-first  parallels, 
it  covers  a  Avide  extent  of  country.  The  inunda- 
tion of  the  Euphrates  is  much  more  regular  and 
extensive.  The  melting  of  snow  on  the  northern 
slopes  is  slower,  and  the  river  begins  to  swell  very 
slowly  about  the  beginning  of  March,  and  gradu- 
ally increases  until  the  highest  point  is  reached 
about  the  end  of  May,  when  the  waters  stand 
about  thirteen  feet  above  low  water.'  At  this 
point  the  river  remains,  for  about  a  month,  sinks 
slightly  toward  the  middle  of  July,  and  then  more 
rapidly  till  September.  The  Euphrates  begins  to 
ovei-flow  its  banks  much  higher  up  than  the  Tigris, 
and  even  at  its  junction  with  the  Khabur  is  de- 

'  Colonel  Chesney  found  the  increased  depth  to  be  thirteen  and  a  half 
feet  {Expedition  for  the  Survey  of  the  Rivers  Euphrates  and  Tigris.  Lon- 
don, 1850,  vol.  i,  p.  61). 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        275 

scribed  as  "  spreading  over  tlie  surrounding  coun- 
try like  a  sea."  From  Hit  downward  the  river 
spreads  over  both  banks,  but  with  a  strong  ten- 
dency to  flow  farther  and  more  deeply  over  the 
western  bank.  The  slow  and  regular  rise  of  the 
river  made  it  exceedingly  valuable  for  irrigation, 
and  the  Babylonian  people  fully  availed  them- 
selves of  this  great  opportunity.  Along  its  banks 
were  constructed  brick  walls  provided  with  break- 
waters to  divert  and  control  the  swift  current  at 
the  rise.  Sluice  gates  controlled  the  rise  so  that 
the  eastern  bank  received  an  inundation  equal  to 
the  west,  while  canals  almost  innumerable  di- 
verted the  retreating  waters,  and  prevented  the 
flow  from  damaging  the  cultivable  area.  Further- 
more, the  water  was  retained  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  supply  an  irrigation  system  far  back  from  the 
river  for  the  grain  harvest,  after  the  fall  of  the 
river.  This  entire  system  is  now  a  vast  ruin.  The 
river  rises  and  falls  as  it  wills,  and  sweeping  far 
over  the  western  bank,  turns  the  country  into  a 
morass.  The  harm  of  this  is  both  negative  and 
positive.  It  makes  impossible  any  such  great  in- 
gathering of  grain  as  existed  when  this  great  valley 
was  the  world's  granary,  and  it  fills  the  land  with 
a  dangerous  miasma,  which  produces  fevers  and 
leaves  the  inhabitants  weak  and  sickly.  There 
are  few  instances  in  the  world  of  a  sadder  w^aste 
of  a  beautiful  and  fertile  country. 

In  the  lower  alluvial   countiy  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates  have  made  numerous  changes  in  their 


276     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

river  beds.  These  changes  have  often  begun  in 
the  spring  and  summer  floods  and  then  continued. 
The  branch  streams  which  are  thus  formed  per- 
petually vary,  being  sometimes  so  large  as  to  be 
navigable  and  again  left  absolutely  dry.  Yet,  on 
the  whole,  with  the  exception  of  the  great  change 
produced  by  the  union  of  the  Tigris  and  Eu- 
phrates at  their  mouths,  the  general  course  of  the 
rivers  remains  about  the  same  throughout  the 
historic  period. 

Of  the  changes  in  branch  streams  by  far  the 
most  important  are  on  the  side  of  Arabia.  There 
branches  off  near  Hit  a  wide,  deep  channel,  which 
skirts  the  Arabian  rocks  and  passes  into  the  Per- 
sian Gulf  by  an  entirely  distinct  channel.  This 
conveys  a  considerable  body  of  Euphrates  water, 
and  keeps  back  the  encroachment  of  the  desert, 
thus  extending  considerably  the  arable  part  of 
Chaldea  and  the  Sea  Lands.  There  is  some 
doubt  as  to  its  age,  and  as  to  whether  or  not  it  was 
in  the  beginning  partly  or  wholly  artificial. 

Besides  the  two  rivers  neither  Assyria  nor  Baby- 
lonia has  any  supplies  of  water  beyond  one  single 
fresh-water  lake,  on  the  Arabian  side  of  the  Eu- 
phrates fifty  miles  south  of  the  ruins  of  Babylon, 
and  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  from  the  river. 
It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  well  known  or 
counted  of  importance  by  the  ancient  inhabitants, 
for  no  mention  of  it  has  yet  been  found  in  any 
Assyrian  or  Babylonian  texts ;  it  was  known  to 
the  Komans  as  Assyrium  Stagnvm,  and  is  now 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        277 

called  Bahr-i-Nedjif.  It  lies  in  a  basiu  forty  miles 
long  and  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  broad,  inclosed  on 
three  sides  by  limestone  hills  varying  from  twenty 
to  two  hundred  feet  in  heiarht.  On  the  remainino- 
side  there  is  a  ridge  of  rock  which  separates  it  from 
the  Euphrates  basin.  At  the  season  of  the  in- 
undation the  Euphrates  pours  water  into  this  lake 
and  then  it  appears  to  be  a  part  of  the  inundation. 
The  water  is  then  sweet  and  good.  When  the 
river  returns  to  its  original  level  the  lake  re- 
mains with  but  very  slight  chauge  in  volume, 
but  the  water  becomes  so  disagreeable  as  to  be 
unpotable.  It  has  been  supposed  that  this  may 
be  due  to  its  connection  with  rocks  of  the  gyp- 
siferous  series. 

The  great  valley  has  a  climate  which  appears 
little  fitted  to  produce  men  of  energy  and  force,  for 
the  temperature  over  its  entire  surface  is  very 
high  in  the  summer  season.  In  the  far  south,  along 
the  Persian  Gulf,  and  in  the  near-by  regions, 
the  atmosphere  is  moist  and  the  heat  is  of  the 
same  character  as  that  of  Hindustan  or  Ceylon. 
Records  do  not  exist  to  show  the  range  of  the 
thermometer,  but  the  passing  traveler  states  the 
simple  fact  that  the  temperature  is  higher  than  at 
Baghdad.  In  Baghdad  the  average  maximum 
daily  temperature  indoors  during  June  and  July 
is  set  down  as  107*^  Fahrenheit,  and  it  often  goes 
up  to  120*=*  or  122°.'     At  present  this  high  tem- 

'  The  Bedouins  of  the  Euphrates,  by  Lady  Anne  Blunt,  ii,  p.  278.     "  In 
July,  1889,  the   average  daily  maximum  temperature   at   Baghdad   was 


278     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

perature  is  also  reached  in  the  north  as  far  up  at 
least  as  Mosul.  It  is  now  also  rendered  much 
more  oppressive  by  hot  winds,  which  arise  sud- 
denly and  filled  with  impalpable  sand  drive  about 
in  eddying  circles  or  sweep  in  vast  clouds  over  a 
wide  extent  of  country.  This  dust  becomes  at 
times  so  thick  as  to  completely  shut  off  near  ob- 
jects  from  the  vision,  as  though  by  a  fog.  The 
gleaming  particles  of  sand  shine  beneath  the  swel- 
tering sun,  the  sand  enters  nostrils  or  mouth  and 
seems  to  choke  the  very  lungs.  Death  itself  some- 
times alone  terminates  the  suffering  experienced  in 
these  terrible  visitations.  It  is,  however,  alto- 
gether probable  that  in  the  period  of  the  ancient 
history  neither  the  heat  nor  the  sand  was  such  a 
menace.*  Then  the  whole  land  in  the  south  was 
one  vast  network  of  canals.  The  presence  of  the 
body  of  water  thus  everywhere  spread  abroad 
greatly  modified  the  temperature,  so  that  the 
sudden  change  which  now  exists  from  the  heat  of 
the  day  to  the  cool  of  the  night  could  not  have 
been  so  great.  Besides  this  these  canals  made 
the  land  a  cultivated  garden,  free  almost  entirely 
from  the  incursion  of  yellow  sand.  These  sands 
properly  belong  to  the  Arabian  desert,  from  which 
they  yearly  come  in  increasing  quantities  into  the 
plain  and  valley.     During  the  period  of  the  glory 

114°  in  the  shade,  and  in  1890  we  encountered  the  same  temperature  more 
than  once  in  June."    Peters,  Nippur,  ii,  p.  310. 

'  The  reference  here  is  to  the  period  of  Babylonian  occupation.  That 
great  heat  was  experienced  in  the  Greco-Roman  period  is  well  evidenced. 
See,  for  example,  Theophr.,  de  vent.,  25,  and  Plutarch,  Alexander,  35. 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        279 

of  Babylon  these  sand  waves  had  certainly  not 
gone  beyond  the  Euphrates,  and  they  could 
hardly  have  reached  it.  At  present  from  May 
to  November  the  sky  is  usually  without  a  single 
cloud.  In  November  the  clouds  gather,  and  in 
December  and  January  there  are  heavy  rains. 
These  flow  rapidly  off  into  the  rivers,  for  there  is 
no  canal  system  to  retain  the  water  for  use  in  agri- 
culture. There  is  no  cold  weather  in  all  the  land  in 
the  sense  understood  in  the  temperate  zone.  There 
is  in  midwinter  an  occasional  sign  of  frost,  suffi- 
cient to  whiten  the  dew  upon  the  grass  in  early 
morning,  and  in  rare  cases  ice  has  been  known  to 
form  in  the  marshes.  So  mild,  indeed,  are  the 
winters  that  Persian  kings  made  Babylon  their 
winter  residence  to  avoid  the  bitter  cold  of  their 
own  highlands.  In  recent  times  native  Indians, 
expelled  for  state  reasons  from  their  own  country, 
fix  their  residence  in  Bassorah  or  Baghdad  to  enjoy 
the  mild  winter  climate. 

The  whole  alluvial  plain  of  Babylonia  was  prover- 
bially fertile  in  the  ancient  world.  Herodotus  began 
the  chorus  of  praise  in  the  west,  and  it  has  con- 
tinued with  greater  or  less  emphasis  down  the  ages. 
He  begins  his  praise  in  the  oft-quoted  words :  "  Of 
all  countries  that  we  know,  there  is  none  that  is  so 
fruitful  in  grain.  It  makes  no  pretension,  indeed, 
of  growing  the  fig,  the  olive,  the  vine,  or  any 
other  tree  of  the  kind  ;  but  in  grain  it  is  so  fruit- 
ful as  to  yield  commonly  two  hundredfold,  and 
when  the  production  is  at  the  greatest,  even  three 


280     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

hundredfold.  The  blade  of  the  wheat  plant  and 
of  the  barley  plant  is  often  four  fingers  in  breadth. 
As  for  the  millet  and  the  sesame,  I  shall  not  say 
to  what  height  they  grow,  though  within  my  own 
knowledge ;  for  I  am  not  ignorant  that  what  I 
have  already  written  concerning  the  fruitfulness 
of  Babylonia  must  seem  incredible  to  those  who 
have  not  visited  the  country."  '  The  same  note 
exactly  is  struck  by  Theophrastus  in  his  state- 
ment :  "  In  Babylon  the  wheat  fields  are  regu- 
larly mown  twice,  and  then  fed  oil'  with  beasts  to 
keep  down  the  luxuriance  of  the  leaf ;  otherwise 
the  plant  does  not  run  to  ear.  When  this  is  done 
the  return  in  lands  that  are  badly  cultivated  is 
fiftyfold  ;  while  in  those  that  are  well  farmed  it 
is  a  hundredfold." "  Strabo  follows  in  the  same 
strain,  saying :  "  The  country  produces  barley  on  a 
scale  not  known  elsewhere,  for  the  return  is  said 
to  be  three  hundredfold.  All  other  wants  are 
supplied  by  the  palm,  which  furnishes  not  only 
bread,  but  wine,  vinegar,  honey,  and  meal ; "  '  and 
Pliny  says  that  the  wheat  crop,  where  the  laud  is 
well  farmed,  is  a  hundred  and  fiftyfold. 

In  estimating  these  tributes  to  the  productive- 
ness of  the  land  it  is  perhaps  well  to  remember 
that  Herodotus  had  an  affluent  imagination  and 
was  inclined  to  exaggerate  for  effect.  Theophras- 
tus is  more  reliable  when  speaking  of  such  mat- 

'  Herodotus,  i,  193. 

^  Theophrastus,  Hisioria  Plantanim,  viii,  *1  (ed.  Fredericus  Wimmer,  p. 
135,  line  2,  ff.). 
3xvi,  p.  742  (ed.  Carolus  M(illerus,p.  632,  line  26,  ff.). 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRL\.        281 

ters,  but  probably  leaned  somewhat  on  the  tradi- 
tion of  Herodotus.  The  other  statements  must  be 
exaggerations.  To  the  modern  husbandman  in 
this  valley  the  yield  of  wheat  and  barley  is  from 
thirty  to  fortyfold.  When  all  allowance  is  made 
for  the  poor  methods  now  followed,  and  for 
changed  conditions,  it  is  still  unlikely  that  the 
ancient  average  yield  greatly  exceeded  sixtyfold. 
Modern  travelers  hardly  equal  the  ancient  in 
their  estimate  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  especially 
when  compared  with  that  of  Egypt.  Kich,  who 
was  a  most  careful  observer  and  accurate  reporter, 
says,  "The  soil  is  extremely  fertile,  producing 
great  quantities  of  rice,  oats,  and  grain  of  different 
kinds,  though  it  is  not  cultivated  to  above  half  the 
degree  of  which  it  is  susceptible."  Chesney,  who 
knew  the  land  from  much  experience  during  sur- 
vey work,  is  even  more  strong  in  the  statement : 
"  Although  greatly  changed  by  the  neglect  of  man, 
those  portions  of  Mesopotamia  which  are  still  cul- 
tivated, as  the  country  about  Hillah,  show  that 
the  region  has  all  the  fertility  ascribed  to  it  by 
Herodotus."  Loftus  adds  to  this  the  comparative 
statement  that  "  the  soil  is  not  less  bountiful  than 
that  on  the  banks  of  the  Egyptian  Nile."  *  This 
statement  is,  however,  of  very  slight  value  indeed, 
for  when  it  was  wi'itten  Loftus  had  never  been  in 
Egypt.  Probably  the  soundest  modern  estimate 
is  that  of  Olivier,  who  knew  both  Egypt  and  Baby- 


20 


'  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldaea,  p.  14. 


282     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Ionia,  and  adjudged  the  former  to  be  somewhat 
more  fertile  than  the  latter.' 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  wheat  and  barley 
are  indigenous  to  the  plains  of  the  Euphrates,  and 
that  thence,  after  a  period  of  cultivation,  they 
spread  westward  over  Syria  and  Egypt  and  on  ta 
Europe.  If  this  be  true,  the  land  might  well  be 
expected  to  yield  a  good  harvest  of  native 
cereals. 

But  the  productivity  of  the  land  did  not  stop 
with  the  great  cereals.  The  inhabitants  had  a 
wide  range  of  vegetables  for  food,  among  which 
are  pumpkins,  kidney-beans,  onions,  vetches,  egg 
plants,  cucumbers,  "  gombo "  lentils,  chick-peas, 
and  beans. 

Above  the  vegetables  and  cereals  of  the  land 
rose  its  trees,  of  which  the  variety  was  great,  both 
of  those  that  yielded  fruit  and  of  those  that  added 
merely  to  the  beauty  of  the  land ;  among  these 
were  the  apple,  fig,  apricot,  pistachio,  vine,  almond, 
walnut,  cypress,  tamarisk,  plane  tree,  and  acacia. 
But  valuable  and  beautiful  though  they  all  were, 
none  was  equal  in  utility,  in  song,  or  in  story  with 
the  palm.  From  the  most  ancient  of  days  down 
to  the  present  all  the  Orient  has  rung  with  the 
praises  of  the  palm.  In  Babylon  it  found  a  suitable 
place  for  its  development.  It  was  cultivated  with 
extreme  care.  Even  in  early  times  the  process  of 
reproduction  had  been  discovered,  and  was  facili- 
tated by  shaking  the  flowers  of  the  male  palm 

'  Olivier,  Voyage  dans  V Empire  Othoman,  etc.,  ii,  p.  423. 


LANDS  OP  BABYLONIA  xVND  ASSYRIA.        283 

over  those  of  the  female.  From  the  products  of 
this  tree  the  peasantry  were  able  almost  to  sup- 
port life.  The  fruit  was  eaten  both  fresh  and  dry> 
forming  in  the  latter  case  almost  a  sweetmeat.  If 
decapitated,  the  tree  gave  a  juice  which  might  be 
used  as  a  wine,  and  was  "  sweet  and  headachy,"  in 
the  opinion  of  Xenophou.  The  Greeks  even  as- 
sei*t  that  the  Babylonians  derived  from  the  palm 
bread,  wine,  vinegar,  honey,  groats,  string  and 
ropes  of  all  kinds,  firing,  and  a  mash  for  fattening 
cattle. 

The  fauna  of  the  land  was  as  rich  and  as  varied 
as  its  flora.  The  rivers  swarmed  with  fish.  In 
their  slow-flo^\ang  waters  the  barbel  and  carp 
grew  to  large  size  and  were  most  highly  esteemed. 
But  the  eel,  murena,  silurus,  and  gurnard  were  also 
used  for  food,  and  found  in  abundance. 

By  the  watei*s  and  amid  the  great  reeds  which 
almost  seemed  to  wall  in  the  rivers  were  birds  in 
extraordinary  variety,  among  them  pelicans,  cranes, 
storks,  herons,  gulls,  ducks,  swans,  and  geese.  On 
land  were  found  the  ostrich,  the  bustard,  partridge, 
thrush,  blackbird,  ortolan,  turtledove,  and  pigeon, 
together  with  birds  of  prey  like  eagles  and  ha^vks. 
A  few  snakes  are  found,  of  which  only  three 
varieties  are  known  to  be  poisonous,  but  none  of 
these  are  so  dangerous  as  many  found  in  adjoining 
lands. 

The  larger  animals  were  numerous,  but  of  all 
the  varieties  that  existed  wild  only  the  ox,  ass, 
goat,  and    sheep  were  domesticated  at  an  eai-l}^ 


234     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

period  and  made  useful  to  man.  To  these  were 
added  the  domestic  hog,  which  seems,  however,  to 
have  remained  in  a  semi- wild  state.  In  a  later 
jDeriod  the  horse  and  camel  were  brought  into  use. 

But  if  the  domesticated  animals  were  compara- 
tively few,  the  wild  animals  were  of  extraordi- 
nary number.  At  the  head  of  all  of  them,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  stood 
the  lion.  He  is  not  so  fierce  as  his  namesake  of 
Africa.  In  size  he  is  not  much  larger  than  a 
St.  Bernard  dog,  and  his  Assyrian  name  originally 
meant  big  dog.  The  modern  representative  in 
the  same  regions  is  not  deemed  formidable  by 
Europeans,  for  he  never  attacks  men  save  when 
brought  to  bay  in  a  position  from  which  there  is 
absolutely  no  chance  of  escape,  when  he  will  fight 
desperately.  The  natives,  however,  hold  them  in 
dread,  and  never  make  a  fio^ht  ao^ainst  one  w^hich 
may  be  seen  in  the  very  act  of  slaying  sheep. 
There  are  two  varieties,  one  without  a  mane  and 
the  other  with  a  mane  of  thick,  tangled  black 
hair.  It  is  the  latter  which  excites  most  fear  in 
the  native  breast.  The  Assyrian  and  Babylonian 
kings  hunted  lions  in  the  chase,  and  made  great 
boast  of  the  number  that  they  had  slain.  The 
chase  of  the  lion  was,  indeed,  the  royal  sport,  and 
fills  a  large  share  of  the  numerous  monumental 
illustrations  of  hunting. 

In  very  early  times  the  elephant  wandered  at 
will  over  the  middle  Euphrates  country,  but  it  dis- 
appeared certainly  before  the  thirteenth  century, 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYmA.        285 

and  was  henceforward  only  an  object  of  curiosity, 
when  received  by  kings  as  presents  in  distant 
wars.  Like  the  elephant,  other  beasts  of  chase  or 
prey  early  disappeared,  or  ceased  to  be  objects  of 
interest  because  of  their  rarity.  Among  these 
were  the  urus,  leopard,  lynx,  wild-cat,  hyena, 
porcupine,  beavei*,  and  the  ibex.  During  at  least 
a  large  j)art  of  the  history  the  wild  ass  and  on- 
ager roamed  in  small  herds  over  much  of  the 
country  and  especially  between  the  Balikh  and 
the  Tigris.  The  beauty  and  swiftness  of  the  wild 
ass  have  long  been  celebrated  in  the  Orient,  and 
the  Assyrians  admired  and  represented  them 
in  their  monuments.  It  appears  that  they  at- 
tempted to  tame  them  for  the  drawing  of  char- 
iots, but  met  with  poor  success.  Modern  at- 
tempts to  make  them  serviceable  have  been 
equally  futile.  The  natives  frequently  capture  foals 
and  rear  them  on  milk  in  the  tent.  They  become 
docile  and  affectionate,  but  are  delicate  in  captivity 
and  useless  for  labor.  Two  varieties  of  deer  ap- 
pear in  monumental  representation,  the  one  appar- 
ently representing  the  gray  deer,  which  still  ex- 
ists in  the  country,  and  the  other  the  fallow 
deer,  which  is  now  entirely  unknown.  The 
hare,  also,  is  frequently  exhibited  as  the  object  of 
chase. 

While  both  Babylonia  and  Assyria  were  exceed  - 
ingly  rich  in  flora  and  fauna,  they  are  both,  and 
especially  the  former,  exceedingly  poor  in  mineral 
wealth.     The  alluvium  is  absolutely  destitute  of 


386     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

metals  and  of  stone.  This  had  an  important  re- 
flex influence  upon  the  civilization  of  the  country. 
As  stone  was  not  procurable  close  at  hand,  the 
early  builders  who  would  have  it  for  utility  or 
decoration  sought  it  at  great  distances.  From 
Arabia  came  probably  the  earliest  stone  utilized 
in  the  country.  This  had  to  be  transported  long 
distances  overland.  The  skill  requii'ed  for  this 
in  the  overcoming  of  engineering  difficulties  pushed 
forward  the  development  of  the  people  in  mechan- 
ical pursuits,  and  hence  reacted  upon  civilization. 
But  even  as  early  as  3000  B.  C.  stone  was  brought 
from  the  Lebanon  and  the  Amanus.  This  was 
rafted  down  the  Euphrates,  after  a  considerable 
land  journey  to  its  upper  waters.  And  herein  was 
cause  for  the  study  of  problems  in  river  transpor- 
tation and  in  the  construction  of  navigable  rafts. 
Such  problems  as  these  would  be  insoluble  by 
natives  in  the  same  district  at  present,  but  they 
were  successfully  carried  out  on  a  large  scale  in 
early  times,  as  the  great  buildings  and  the  inscrip- 
tions describing  them  abundantly  witness.  But, 
though  the  Babylonians  did  thus  acquire  stone, 
they  could  hardly  have  secured  enough  to  house 
the  entire  population  as  well  as  for  royal  resi- 
dences and  the  homes  of  the  gods.  The  need  for 
a  permanent  and  less  costly  building  material  was 
solved  in  another  way.  There  was  beneath  their 
feet  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  the  best  qualities 
of  clay.  This  was  readily  molded  into  bricks. 
Some  of   these  were  dried  in  the  sun,  and   were 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        287 

then  deemed  sufficient  for  the  fillinir  in  of  the  in- 
teriors  of  walls.  Others  were  baked  in  kilns,  and 
with  these  the  walls  were  faced.  In  the  excel- 
lence of  materials  used,  and  in  the  perfection  of 
form,  texture,  and  solidity,  and  in  the  great  size 
of  their  bricks  the  Babylonians  have  probably 
never  been  excelled.  The  same  material  was 
used  for  the  manufacture  of  books  or  tablets. 
These  were  made  even  more  carefully,  and  were 
almost  indestructible.  For  records  the  ancient 
world  knew  nothing  their  superior  and  perhaj)3 
nothing  equal.  The  papyrus  of  ancient  Egypt 
was  so  fragile  and  so  easily  destroyed  by  either 
fire  or  water  that  it  bears  no  comparison  with  the 
brick  which  resisted  both  almost  equally  well. 
The  clay  tablet  has  preserved  through  the  cen- 
turies a  vast  literature,  much  of  it  uninjured, 
while  untold  portions  of  the  literature  of  the 
more  cultured  Egyptians  have  hopelessly  per- 
ished. 

In  the  erection  of  buildings  the  bricks  were 
joined  together  in  three  different  ways.  They 
are  found  simply  set  together  in  the  interior  of 
walls,  without  any  substance  to  form  a  close  junc- 
tion. More  commonly  they  were  united  by  bitu- 
men, which  was  found  in  several  parts  of  the 
country,  but  especially  at  Hit.  Here  are  inex- 
haustible springs  which  have  supplied  the  whole 
surrounding  country  for  untold  centuries,  and 
form  the  subject  of  repeated  references  in  the  lit- 
erature   not    only    of   Babylonia,  but  of   Egypt, 


288     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Greece,  and  Rome  as  well/  Slime  and  mud  were 
also  used,  and  with  these  calcareous  earths  appear 
to  have  been  mixed,  the  whole  forming  a  solid  and 
extremely  tenacious  mortar. 

From  the  bitumen  pits  petroleum  is  now  taken, 
and  may  have  been  known  to  the  ancients.  But 
here  ends  the  very  brief  catalogue  of  the  mineral 
products  of  Babylonia.  The  land  could  hardly 
be  poorer  in  this  respect. 

In  mineral  wealth  Assyria  was  incomparably 
superior  to  Babylonia.  Stone  of  excellent  quality, 
and  in  many  varieties,  such  as  limestone,  conglom- 
erate, and  sandstone,  is  found  on  every  hand, 
while  other  stones  were  easily  accessible.  A  soft 
and  beautiful  alabaster,  readily  cut  into  slabs, 
abounds  on  the  eastern  banks  of  the  Tigris.  This 
beautiful  material  was  extensively  used  for  wains- 
coting in  Assyrian  palaces,  and  its  outer  surfaces 
were  then  richly  carved  in  bas-reliefs.  The  prog- 
ress thus  made  in  the  art  of  sculpture  was  note- 
worthy, and  is  to  be  numbered  among  the  great- 
est triumphs  won  by  this  -warlike  people  in  the 
arts  of  peace.  The  mountains  of  Kurdistan, 
easily  reached  by  the  rivers  or  water  courses  above 
the  great  cities,  supplied  many  beautiful  forms 
of  marble ;  w^hile  Mount  Masius  offered  a  fine 
quality  of  dark-colored  basalt  of  great  fineness 
and  hardness.     These  stones  were  indeed  not  used 

'  See,  for  example,  Herodotus,  i,  179 ;  Pliny,  Nat.  Hist.,  vi,  129,  ff.,  152  ; 
Strabo,  xvi,  743.  The  pits  are  described  by  Q\\esney  {Narrative  of  Eu- 
phrates Expedition,  p.  280 ;  comp.  also  p.  76)  and  by  Rich  {Narrative  of 
n  Journey  to  the  Site  of  Babylon,  London,   1839,  pp.  101,  102). 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRL\.        289 

foj"  the  walls  of  buildings.  The  colonists  of  As- 
syria retained  the  custom  of  Babylonia,  from 
which  they  had  come,  and  built  their  houses, 
temples,  and  palaces  of  brick,  and  later  ages  con- 
tinued to  follow  their  example.  Like  Babylonia, 
Assyria  had  extensive  bitumen  pits,  located  at 
Kerkuk,'  in  the  territory  between  the  Lesser  Zab 
and  the  Adhem,  while  another  source  is  found  in 
the  bed  of  the  Shor-Derreh  torrent,  near  Nimroud. 
Salt  is  also  obtainable  in  the  former  district. 

The  lands  which  were  thus  rich  in  flora  and 
fauna  and  sufficiently  supplied  with  minerals  for 
man's  ordinary  use  maintained  a  great  population, 
largely  settled  in  cities,  in  which  the  real  political 
life  of  the  land  began.  The  cities  which  play 
important  parts  in  the  later  history  may  here  be 
set  down,  with  just  enough  of  color  and  descrip- 
tion to  make  them  real  in  the  story  of  their  politi- 
cal life. 

In  the  far  south  lay  the  city  of  Eridu,  which 
played  but  a  small  part  in  all  the  history  of  Baby- 
lonia, unless  indeed  it  had  importance  in  a  period 
still  more  ancient  than  that  known  to  us.  The 
site  is  now  known  as  Abu-Shahrein,'  and  has  not 

'See  Ainsworth,  "Journey  to  Constantinople,"  in  Chesney's  Narrative 
of  Euphrates  Expedition^  p.  497  :  "  There  are  several  wells  from  which 
(.•onsiderable  quantities  of  naphtha  and  petroleum  are  obtained.  From 
eight  to  ten  gallons  were  said  to  be  collected  from  each  well  per  diem." 

'  See  Loftus,  "  Notes  on  Abu-Shahrein  and  Tel-el-Lahm,"  in  Journal  of 
tlu  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xiv,  pp.  412,  ff.  ''We  found  ....  that  the 
name  Abu-Shahrein  had  vanished,  and  Nowawis  taken  its  place  as  the 
present  designation  of  the  ancient  ruins  of  Eridu."  Peters,  Nippur, 
ii,  p.  96. 


290     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

yet  been  adequately  studied.  The  remains  of  the 
city,  so  far  as  they  have  been  excavated,  appear  to 
contain  a  large  temple,  which  was  probably  the 
home  of  the  god  Ea,  who  here  received  special 
veneration. 

West  of  Eridu  stood  the  great  city  Ur,  which 
occupied  from  the  earliest  times  down  to  the  be- 
ginning of  Babylon's  hegemony  a  position  of  dis- 
tinguished influence  in  the  land,  and  even  there- 
after continued  to  be  the  most  important  city  in 
the  south.  The  chief  god  of  the  city  was  Sin,  the 
moon  god,  here  worshiped  under  the  name  of  Nan- 
nar.  The  moon  god  always  exerted  profound  in- 
fluence over  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  Ur  there- 
fore was  early  adorned  with  a  large  temple  for  the 
worship  of  Sin,  which  was  frequently  restored  down 
the  centuries  to  the  days  of  Nabonidus.  The  ruins 
of  the  city  have  been  but  slightly  explored,  and 
will  almost  certainly  give  a  rich  treasure,  at  some 
future  day,  to  a  complete  examination  of  them. 
The  mound  is  now  called  El-Mugheir ' — the  place 
of  bitumen — for  the  inhabitants  have  used  it  for 
centuries  as  a  place  to  secure  bitumen,  which 
they  dug  from  between  the  bricks  of  Babylonian 
buildings. 

At  the  modern  town  of  Senkereh,"  on  the  left 

•  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldcea  and  Susiana,  London, 
185Y,  pp.  127,  fif.;  Peters,  Nippur,  ii,  pp.  196,  ff.  (with  photograph  of  the 
Ziggurat). 

2  Loftus,  op.  cit.,  p.  256.  See  especially  Saehau,  Am  Euphrat  und 
Tigris,  pp.  66-68.  Saehau  believes  that  the  mound  contains  not  only 
remains  of  temples  and  palaces,  but  also  of  the  dwellings  of  the  inhabit- 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        291 

bank  of  the  Sbatt-en-Nil  Canal  stood  the  next  chief 
city,  Larsa.  This  was  also  one  of  the  most  ancient 
cities  of  the  land.  The  sun  god  held  the  chief 
position  in  Larsa,  and  here  the  early  kings  Ur-Gur 
and  Dungi  built  a  temple  in  his  honor.  This 
temple  found  restorers  in  Hammurabi,  Burna- 
buriash,  Nebuchadrezzar,  and  Nabonidus,  and  so 
remained  a  venerated  spot  unto  the  very  end  of 
Babylonian  history.  The  city  early  played  an 
important  political  part,  and  retained  its  place  at 
the  head  of  a  small  state  even  down  to  the  reign 
of  Hammurabi.  It  was  the  last  city  to  succumb  to 
him  and  yield  allegiance  to  the  conquering  might 
of  Babylon. 

Somewhat  north  of  Larsa,  probably  at  the 
mound  of  Tell-Id,  was  the  city  of  Girsu,  which  is 
mentioned  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Dungi,  and  was 
the  chief  city  of  at  least  one  petty  king  (Urkagina) 
in  the  early  period.  Its  influence  was,  however, 
small  in  comparison  with  those  farther  south  or 
when  compared  with  the  city  of  Uruk  (Erech, 
Orchoe),  which  is  but  a  short  distance  from  it. 
Uruk  was  a  border  city  between  northern  and 
southern  Babylonia,  and  long  remained  the  center 
of  a  small  independent  kingdom.  It  was  the 
place  of  worship  of  the   goddess    Nana  of   the 

ants.  "In  diesen  babylonischen  Stadten  Senkere  und  Warka  scheinen 
ausser  den  Tempeln  und  Palasten  auch  noch  die  Wohnungen  der  Biirger 
unter  dem  Schutt  erhalten  zu  sein  ahnlich  wie  in  Pompeji,  wahrend  in 
Ninive  ausser  den  beiden  Konigsburgen,  Kojunjik  und  Nebi  Jilnus,  der 
Mauer  und  den  Thoren  alle  iibrigen  Wohnungen  spurlos  von  der  Erdober- 
flache  verschwunden  sind.  Aehnliches  gilt  aucU  von  dem  Weichbild  von 
Babylon."     Ibid.,  p.  67. 


292     HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Sumerians,  with  whom  the  Semitic  inhabitants 
identified  their  goddess  Ishtar.  The  temple  dedi- 
cated to  the  goddess  and  called  E-Anna  (house  of 
heaven)  was  built  by  Ur-Gur  and  Duugi  and  often 
restored.  It  now  forms  the  ruin  of  El-Buwarije, 
while  the  general  mass  of  ruins  is  called  Warka,' 
which  has  unhappily  not  been  dug  up.  The  city 
had  independence  at  an  early  period,  and  is 
coupled  by  Hebrew  tradition"  with  the  earliest 
centers  of  the  land,  and  Babylonian  records  go  far 
to  prove  that  this  is  correct.  It  was,  however, 
much  more  than  a  mere  center  of  power.  It  was 
a  seat  of  learning  and  must  have  had  a  library  at 
a  very  early  period.  Many  books  in  the  library  of 
Asshurbanapal,  and  especially  religious  hymns, 
bear  colophons  which  show  that  they  were  copied 
from  originals  at  Uruk.  Strabo  adds  to  this  fact 
the  statement  that  at  Orchoe  there  was  a  school  of 
Chaldeans,  that  is  in  his  use  of  the  word  "  astrolo- 
gists."  This  would  indicate  that  culture  was  still 
resident  in  this  city,  though  it  had  vanished  from 
other  more  ancient  centers.  The  political,  literary, 
and  religious  history  of  the  city  all  make  it  of  so 
great  interest  and  importance  that  it  is  especially 
a  matter  for  regret  that  it  has  never  been  properly 
excavated. 

On  the  banks  of  the  canal  Shatt-el-Hai,  which 
unites    the    Tigris  and  Euphrates,  is   a    mound 

'  Loftus,  op.  cil,  pp.  159,  f.  It  has  been  visited  by  Ward  (see  Peters, 
Nippur,  i,  pp.  349,  350)  and  by  Sachau  {op.  cit,  pp.  61-64),  who  has  well 
described  its  present  appearance. 

^  Gen.  X,  10. 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRLl.        293 

Tellob,'  from  which  have  come  vast  stores  of  in- 
scribed tablets  of  every  description.  It  marks,  iu 
all  probability,  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  of  La- 
gash,  which  had  a  long  history  as  a  separate  state, 
though  with  many  fluctuations  of  power. 

The  next  city  iu  our  progress  northward  was 
Isin,  of  which,  unhappily,  very  little  is  known.  It 
was  linked  in  the  title  of  the  kino\s  who  made 
Nippur,  its  near-by  neighbor,  tlie  chief  city  of  the 
land,  but  its  history  was  swallowed  up  in  the 
greater  history  of  the  places  about  it,  and  its 
ruins  have  not  been  certainly  identified.* 

Nippur,  on  the  other  hand,  is  now  the  best 
known  city  in  all  Babylonia.  The  greatest  dis- 
coveries yet  made  beneath  the  soil  of  the  entire 
land  were  made  here  by  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania expedition.  Nippur  was  the  oldest 
center  of  the  worship  of  the  god  Bel,  and  may  be 
the  oldest  city  of  all  Babylonia  of  which  there  is 
any  known  record.  As  Ur  was  the  city  of  the 
moon  god,  and  Sippara  the  city  of  the  sun  god, 
so  was  Nippur  the  home  of  Bel,  and  as  these  three 
were  the  greatest  of  the  gods  of  Babylonia,  so 
their  cities  outranked  all  others  in  early  political 
history,  until  dethroned  by  force ;  after  which  they 
continued  to  be  the  chief  places  of  veneration 
in  all   the    empire.     Nippur  was  rich   in  build- 


'  Heuzey-de  Sarzec,  Deconvertes  en  Chaldee,  passim  ;  Peters,  Kippnr,  i,  pp. 
268,  269  ;  ii,  291.  The  visit  by  Ward  is  described  in  his  diary  (Peters, 
Nippur,  i,  pp.  337-339,  342). 

'  Peters  suggests  Bismya  as  the  probable  site  of  Isin  {Nippur ,  ii,  272). 


29i      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

ings  devoted  to  religion  and  to  royal  residence, 
and  its  great  ruin  mound,  Niffer  or  Nuffar^ 
has  yielded  an  extraordinary  mass  of  ancient 
treasures. 

But  great  as  all  these  cities  were  in  age,  and 
rich  though  they  continued  to  be  in  religious  as- 
sociations, they  were  all  surpassed  in  influence  by 
the  city  of  Babylon.  They  were  forgotten  of 
men  when  the  dust  and  sand  settled  upon  them^ 
but  the  glory  and  the  shame  of  Babylon  re- 
mained. Even  the  name  of  the  city  lived  on  in 
the  ruin  heap  Babil.'  The  chief  ruins  of  Baby- 
lon lie  near  the  modern  village  of  Hillah,  and 
cover  such  a  great  extent  of  country  that  until 
very  recently  no  men  have  been  found  bold 
enough  to  attempt  the  exploration  of  the  entire 
mound.  The  city  laid  no  claim  to  great  age,  and 
was  probably  not  very  ancient  when  Hammurabi 
made  it  the  chief  city  over  all  the  land  and  dis- 
placed the  more  ancient  seats  of  power.  The  re- 
ligious glory  of  the  city  was  also  in  a  sense  ficti- 
tious. Its  chief  god  had  been  Marduk  (the  bibli- 
cal Merodach),  and  to  him  fitting  worship  was 
paid  for  generations.  But  Marduk's  own  position 
in  the  pantheon  was  not  great  enough  to  bring  to 

'  There  is  still  some  doubt  about  the  identification  of  various  mounds 
near  Hillah  with  the  parts  of  ancient  Babylon.  There  is  a  learned  and 
exhaustive  review  of  the  matter  by  Baumstarck  in  Pauly-Wissowa,  Beal- 
enc.  der  class.  Alterthumswissenschaft,  5i  (1899),  and  an  outline  of  the  prob- 
lems by  the  writer  in  the  Jewish  Mtcyclopadia,  sub  voce.  There  is  a  good 
plan  of  the  sites  in  Encychpadia  Biblica  (Cheyne),  i,  facing  cols.  417,  418. 
The  mounds  are  well  described  by  Peters  (Nippur,  i,  pp.  212  ;  ii,  63)  and  by 
Sacliau  {op  at.,  pp.  37,  ff.). 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        295 

the  city  a  religious  primacy,  and  he  was  therefore 
identified  with  the  great  god  Bel,  and  under  that 
name  was  worshiped  in  Babylon.  To  him  was 
erected  a  great  temple  in  pyramidal  form  rising  to 
seven  stories,  and  known  as  E-sagila.  Kings  vied 
with  each  other  to  make  this  the  largest  and  most 
beautiful  shrine  in  the  empire,  and  in  it  all  rulers 
must  needs  "  take  the  hands  of  Bel "  before  their 
authority  was  deemed  valid.  So  came  the  city  to 
possess  political  power,  dominion  over  the  hearts 
and  consciences  of  men,  and  wealth  unapproach- 
able. To  Babylon  in  the  days  of  Nabonidus  was 
joined  another  city,  Borsippa,  which  may  have 
been  as  old  as  the  capital  itself.  In  it  stood  the 
temple  of  E-zida,  now  Birs  Nimroud,'  dedicated  to 
Nabu  (the  biblical  Nebo),  on  which  kings  lavished 
almost  as  much  labor  and  wealth  as  upon  E-sagila. 
The  two  cities  were  linked  also  in  their  religious 
festivals,  for  on  the  first  day  of  Nisan  (March- 
April),  the  beginning  of  a  new  year,  the  god  Nabu 
left  his  temple  in  solemn  procession  to  visit  his 
father,  Marduk,  in  Babylon.  Of  so  great  im- 
portance was  this  festival  that  the  king  was 
required  to  share  in  it,  no  matter  where  he  might 
be  at  the  time,  whether  on  business  or  pleasure 
bent,  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  for  the  com- 
ing year  the  title  of  king  of  Babylon.  It  is  easy 
to  see  that  this  gave  enormous  power  to  the 
priesthood,   for   it   was    they    alone    who    repre- 

'  Oppert,  Expedition  en  Mesopolamie,  i,  pp.  200,  ff. ;  Peters,  op.  cit.,  5,  pp. 
213,  ff. 


296     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

sented  these  great  deities  in  the  eyes  of  all  the 
people. 

Five  hours  (about  fifteen  miles)  northeast  of 
Babylon  lay  Kiitha,  now  a  mound  and  village 
called  Tell-Ibrahim/  once  the  leading  city  of 
northern  Babylonia  before  the  rise  of  the  city  of 
Babylon.  The  chief  god  of  the  city  was  Nergal, 
whose  temple  was  called  E-shid-lam,  at  which 
passing  kings  were  wont  to  pay  honors  and  offer 
sacrifices.  From  Kutha  a  profound  influence 
passed  into  the  world's  history  by  the  act  of  one 
of  the  Assyrian  kings.  Sargon  deported  thence  a 
number  of  inhabitants  to  Samaria  on  the  fall  of 
the  northern  kingdom  of  Israel,  who  introduced 
the  worship  of  Nergal  and  then  engrafted  upon  it 
features  derived  from  the  religion  of  Jehovah.  In 
close  relation  with  Kutha  stood  the  near-by  city 
of  Kish,  somewhat  as  Borsippa  stood  to  Babylon. 

In  the  extreme  northern  part  of  Babylonia,  and 
nearly  opposite  to  the  present  Baghdad,  lies  the 
mound  Akerkuf,"  which  marks  the  site  of  Dur- 
Kurigalzu  (Kurigalzuburg),  a  city  named  after  a 
Babylonian  king,  but  the  influence  of  which  in 
history  was  slight.  Much  the  same  may  be  said 
of  the  city  of  Upi  (Opis)  during  most  of  the 
period  of  Babylonian  history,  with  this  exception, 
that  it  appears  to  have  had  some  influence  during 
the  Hammurabi  period. 

'  Rassam,  Asshur  and  the  Land  of  Nimrod.    New  York,  1897,  p.  396. 
^  On  the  mound  see  Chesney,  Narrative  of  Euphrates  Expedition,  p.  83, 
and  Rich,  Narrative  of  Journey  to  the  Site  of  Babylon,  pp.  2,  3. 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        2^7 

The  cities  of  Assyria  were  not  so  ancient  as 
those  of  Babylonia,  and  their  general  character 
was  commercial  rather  than  religious,  military 
rather  than  peaceful  and  culture-loving.  Their 
temples  were  indeed  large  and  imposing,  for  the 
Assp'ians  had  amassed  great  wealth  in  war,  and 
they  believed,  no  less  than  the  Babylonians,  that 
the  gods  had  led  them  to  victory.  They  also 
boasted  great  piles  devoted  to  the  residence  of 
kings,  in  which,  however,  libraries  were  not  so 
common  as  in  Babylonia. 

The  first  city  of  Assyria  in  age  was  Asshur, 
whose  site  is  now  marked  by  the  mound  of  Kalah 
Shergat,'  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris.  It  ^^'as 
originally  a  colony  and  dependency  of  Babylonia, 
but  its  kings  spread  their  power  over  the  adjoin- 
ing country,  which  they  named  Asshur,  after  their 
city.  It  was  the  home  of  the  great  god  Asshur, 
whose  temple  E-khai*sag-kurkurra  was  erected  by 
the  earliest  rulers  of  whom  we  know  anything, 
and  frequently  restored  by  later  monarchs.  When 
Calah  became  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  Asshur 
lost  its  dignity  and  decreased  in  size,  but  retained 
a  certain  reverence  as  the  ancient  site  of  the  most 
revered  national  god,  and  as  the  mother  city  of  the 
kino-dom. 

A  little  farther  north,  but  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Tigris  and  at  its  junction  with  the  Upper 

'  Rassam,  Asshur  and  the  Land  of  Nimrod,  pp.  256,  257.     Sachau,  op. 
cit.,  pp.  91,  f.,  and  104,  with  two  illustrations  of  the  mounds.     Ainsworth, 
Journal  of  the  Geographical  Society,  xi,  p.  5. 
21 


298     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Zab,  Shalmaueser  I  built  the  city  of  Calali,  which 
he  made  the  capital  of  Assyria.  It  remained  the 
royal  residence  down  to  the  age  of  Sargon.  The 
mound  Nimroud'  marks  its  site,  and  this  has  been 
fairly  but  not  completely  dug  over.  The  city 
was  not  an  ancient  and  venerated  shrine  of  any 
deity,  but  worship  was  paid  to  Asshur  in  its 
temple. 

A  little  farther  up  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Tigris  the  ruin  heaps  and  squalid  villages  of 
Kuyunjik'  and  Neby  Yunus  mark  the  site  of 
Nineveh,  which  Sennacherib  made  the  capital  of 
the  empire.  The  city  was,  however,  much  older 
than  this,  and  may  almost  certainly  be  accounted 
one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  in  the  kingdom.  It 
was  the  center  of  the  worship  of  Ishtar,  who  was 
called  Ishtar  of  Nineveh  to  distinguish  her  from 
Ishtar  of  Arbela.  Ishtar  of  Nineveh  was  wor- 
shiped in  a  great  temple  on  which  generation 
after  generation  lavished  extraordinary  plunder. 
It  was  the  dream  of  Sennacherib  to  make  Nineveh 
surpass  Babylon  in  size  and  magnificence,  and, 
though  he  did  not  reach  that  ideal,  he  did  make 
it  a  fine  city,  second  only  to  the  ancient  mother 
city  by  the  Euphrates.  To  all  the  world  Nineveh 
stood  as  the  representative  city  of  the  hated 
Assyrian  empire,  and  that  made  its  name  a  by- 
word among  the  peoples. 

'  Layard,  Nineveh  and  its  Remains^  New  York,  1849,  i,  pp.  28,  44,  etc. 
Sachau,  op.  cit.,  p.  105.  Rassam,  op.  cit.,  pp.  9,  225  (with  plan  and  illustra- 
tion of  ruins). 

*Layard,  op.  cit.,  i,  p.  98,  etc. 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        299 

North  of  Nineveh,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
Sargon  planted  a  new  city,  to  which  he  gave  his 
own  name,  Dur-Sharrukin  (that  is,  Sargon'sburg), 
which  he  probably  designed  not  only  to  make  a 
royal  residence,  but  also  the  capital  of  the  country 
and  a  rival  of  Nineveh.  The  remains  of  the  city 
at  Khorsabad'  were  the  first  Assyrian  ruins  ex- 
cavated, and  these  have  shown  that  he  made  the 
city  magnificent  with  a  palace  and  other  build- 
ings, but  it  never  became  even  an  equal  of  Nine- 
veh.' It  apparently  did  not  long  outlive  its 
founder,  but  sank  away  into  insignificance. 

Far  more  important  than  this  creation  of  the 
fancy  of  an  Assyrian  king  was  the  city  of  Arbailu. 
How  old  this  city  was  is  not  known.  There  is 
not  in  all  the  inscriptions  any  evidence  that  the 
Assyrian  kings  j^aid  any  attention  to  it.  It  cer- 
tainly received  at  their  hands  no  great  palaces 
and  no  temples.  It  had  no  political  weight  in 
the  development  of  Assyrian  power,  though  it 
must  have  had  an  Assyrian  populace.  It  lived  a 
quiet  life  apaii;  from  the  great  tides  of  war  or 
commerce  during  the  Assyrian  period,  and  survived 
the  ruin  which  overwhelmed  the  empire.  It  was 
still  an  important  city  in  Persian  days,  and  con- 
tinued to  exist  when  the  city  of  Nineveh  was  un- 

'  M.  Botta's  letters  on  the  discoveries  at  Nineveh,  translated  from  the 
French  by  C.  T[obin].  London,  1850,  passim.  Rassam,  op.  cit.,  p.  295. 
Sachau,  op.  cit,  pp.  106,  121. 

^  The  site  was  a  very  poor  one,  as  has  often  been  pointed  out  (see,  for 
example,  Sachau,  I.  c);  for  it  was  badly  supplied  with  water,  and  lay  apart 
from  the  great  lines  of  communication. 


300     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

known  save  as  a  name  in  the  memory.  A  great 
mound  marks  its  site,  and  its  name  is  retained  in 
the  modern  Erbil.*  The  mound  has  not  yet  been 
excavated,  and  may  very  probably  contain  impor- 
tant memorials  of  the  city's  long  career. 

Outside  the  strict  limits  of  Assyria  lay  the  city 
of  Nagibina.  It  lay  upon  the  Kharmis,  a  tributary 
of  the  Khabur,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  It 
was  the  center  of  an  Assyrian  province,  and  con- 
tinued to  live  under  the  name  of  Nisibis  after  the 
empire  had  ended.  Hadrian  ceded  it  to  the  Par- 
thians,  but  it  returned  to  Roman  rule  and  was  flour- 
ishing at  the  time  of  Septimius  Severus  (Septimia 
Colonia  Nisibis).  Under  the  Seleucids  it  still  con- 
tinued prosperous  and  bore  the  name  of  Antiochia 
Mygdoniae.  Its  modern  representative,  a  miser- 
able collection  of  huts,  has  returned  to  the  ancient 
name  and  is  called  Nisibin. 

Farther  west,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Balikh, 
was  Harrau,  or  Koad-Town,  through  which  passed 
the  great  highways  from  south  and  east  toward 
the  west.  Harran  was  the  center  for  the  worship 
of  Sin,  the  moon  god,  in  the  north,  as  Ur  was  in 
the  south,  and  perhaps  no  sacred  city  in  the  land 
ever  held  so  tenaciously  to  its  ancient  belief. 
"When  Christianity  overran  Mesopotamia  this  city 
remained  the  last  center  of  paganism,  and  under 
the  Mohammedan  sway  the  sect  of  Sabeans  here 
continued  the  worship  of  the  moon.  The  history 
of  Harran  runs  so  far  back  that  its  origin  is  lost 

'Sachau,  op.  cit.,  pp.  111-113  (with  picture  of  the  mound). 


LANDS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.        301 

in  the  mists  that  surround  the  very  beginnings  of 
civilization.  During  the  continuance  of  Assyrian 
power  it  was  a  constant  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
empire,  and  when  Nineveh  had  ceased  to  vex 
mankind  it  was  still  a  powerful  city.  The  Parthi- 
ans  made  a  stronghold  of  it,  and  there  Crassus 
was  defeated.  It  later  formed  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian kingdom  of  Abgar,  and  became  a  city  of  the 
Roman  empire.  The  mounds'  which  mark  its 
site  must  certainly  contain  memorials  of  its  long 
history,  but  they  have  not  been  excavated.  The 
classical  name  was  Carrhte  (which  evidently  con- 
tains a  reminiscence  of  the  ancient  name),  and  it  has 
still  some  importance  as  a  road  town. 

^  Ainsworth,  Euphrates  Expedition,  i,  p,  203. 


302     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE    PEOPLES    OF   BABYLONIA    AND  ASSYRIA. 

The  civilization  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  and 
their  great  sweep  of  history  were  not  made  by 
one  people.  Men  of  several  different  stocks  con- 
tributed to  the  result,  and  here,  as  often  after- 
ward in  the  world's  history,  the  history  bears  the 
stamp  not  of  a  unity  but  of  a  diversity  of  races. 
Even  in  modern  times,  with  all  the  resources  at 
our  command,  it  is  often  difficult  to  distinguish 
the  different  strains  of  races  and  to  trace  their 
influence  in  the  movements  of  history.  "We  need, 
therefore,  feel  no  surprise  that  there  should  be  great 
difficulty  in  tracing  out  the  racial  affinities  of  the 
peoples  who  made  history  in  Assyria  and  Baby- 
lonia. 

At  the  earliest  period  to  which  direct  mon- 
umental records  go  back  we  find  a  people  in 
possession  of  Babylonia  who  are  called  by  us 
Babylonians.  Their  written  records  are  found  to 
be  in  part  a  Semitic  language,  a  language  closely  re- 
lated in  forms  and  vocabulary  to  the  northern 
branch  of  the  Semitic  family,  of  which  Hebrew 
and  Aramaic  are  well-known  examples.  But 
wdien  these  earliest  records  are  all  gathered  to- 


PEOPLES  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.      303 

gether  it  aj^pears  that  large  numbei's  of  tliein  are 
bilingual;  that  is  to  say,  side  by  side  with  the 
Semitic  Babylonian  is  found  another  language. 
This  other  language  appears  in  these  inscriptions 
in  the  form  of  two  dialects,  one  called  "the  lan- 
guage of  the  land  of  Accad  "  and  the  other  "  the 
language  of  the  land  of  Sumer."  As  the  latter 
contains  the  older  forms  it  is  now  called  the  Su- 
merian  language,  and  the  other  is  regarded  as  a 
dialect  of  it.  In  this  Sumerian  lans^uao'e,  written 
though  it  be  in  part  at  least  by  Semitic  Baby- 
lonians, lies  the  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  Su- 
merian people.  They  belong  distinctly,  as  yet, 
to  the  prehistoric  period  in  Babylonian  life.  Of 
their  racial  connections  we  know  only  the  single 
negative  fact  that  they  were  not  Semites.  Their 
language  is  agglutinative,  and  they  have  been 
connected  on  linguistic  grounds  both  with  Indo- 
Europeans  and  especially  with  Turanians.  But 
the  evidence  is  slight  in  itself  and  of  doubtful 
w^eight  even  if  it  were  more  extensive,  for  lan- 
guage is,  after  all,  proof  not  of  race  but  of  social 
contact.' 

But,  though  we  are  unable  to  say  who  these 
Sumerians  were,  we  are  in  a  position  to  aver  some 

'  The  theory  that  the  Sumerians  were  Mongols  has  been  strongly  sup- 
ported by  Hommel,  Lenormant,  and  others,  and  as  strongly  denied  by 
Halevy,  Paul  Haupt,  and  Donner.  In  recent  times  attempts  have  been 
made  by  Hermann  {Ueber  die  Sumerische  Sprache,  Russian  Archaeological 
Congress,  Riga,  1896),  in  a  paper  which  I  have  not  seen,  to  show  that  there 
is  a  connection  between  Sumerian  and  the  Ugro-Finnish  member  of  the 
Ural-Altaic  family.  (See  A.  H.  Keane,  Man  Past  and  Present,  Cambridge, 
1899,  pp.  273,  ff  )    The  solution  of  the  question  is  not  yet  found.  ♦ 


304     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

facts  concerning  their  work  in  the  world  and  their 
relations  to  the  Semitic  Babylonians.  It  was  they 
who  invented  the  cuneiform  system  of  writing,  a 
cumbrous  and  ai'tificial  system  indeed,  and  yet  a 
wonderful  advance  upon  the  still  more  cumbrous 
picture  writing  out  of  which  it  was  developed. 
When  the  Semitic  Babylonians  conquered  the 
Sumerians  and  possessed  their  lands  they  adopted 
at  once  this  system  of  writing  and  took  over  with 
it  the  literature  which  it  enshrined.  This  literature 
was  especially  devoted  to  the  setting  forth  of 
forms  of  worship,  of  hymns  of  praise  to  gotls,  of 
prayers  for  forgiveness  from  sins,  and  of  incanta- 
tions for  delivery  from  disease.  It  was  natural 
that  the  Babylonians  should  desire  to  retain  this 
religious  material  in  its  ancient  tongue,  as  it  was 
not  to  be  expected  that  it  would  be  so  efficacious 
if  translated  into  their  own  Semitic  speech.  There 
arose,  therefore,  a  custom  of  providing  these  reli- 
gious texts  with  interlinear  translations  into  the 
Semitic  speech.  Sumerian  had  now  come  into  the 
same  position  as  did  Latin  in  the  religious  life  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  It  remained  only  that  it  should 
advance  into  a  position  similar  to  that  held  by 
Latin  in  general  life  in  the  same  period.  This 
also  came  about,  for  not  only  were  religious  texts 
so  written,  but  also  historical  texts  as  well.  Gradu- 
ally this  custom  ceased  and  the  Sumerian  language 
was  no  longer  mentioned  or  used ;  but  the  system 
of  writing  which  the  Sumerians  had  devised  con- 
tinued in  full  use  to  the  fall  of  the  Babylonian 


PEOPLES  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.      305 

commonwealth,  and  even  lived  on  in  the  hands  of 
the  Indo-Europeans  who  came  after  them.' 

The  Babylonians  had  indeed  conquered  the 
Sumerians,  but  in  a  higher  sense  they  had  been 
conquered  by  them,  and  their  civilization  in 
general  and  their  religion  in  particular  owed  a 
deep  debt  to  this  strange,  almost  unknown  peo- 
ple who  stand  on  the  very  confines  of  human 
history. 

At  about  tlie  beginning  of  the  fourth  millennium 
before  Christ  tlie  Sumerian  people,  who  had  al- 
ready attained  a  high  civilization,  found  their  land 
invaded  by  a  vast  horde  of  barbarians,  for  so  these 
must  have  appeared  to  them.  These  were  Sem- 
ites, closely  related  in  blood  to  the  Arabs  who 
once  overran  Spain  and  the  Hebrews  who  once 
came  pouring  across  the  Jordan  into  Canaan. 
AVhence  these  invaders  came  is  not  certain.  It 
has  been  thought  by  some  that  they  came  from 
the  northeast  through  the  passes  of  the  Kurdis- 
tan mountains,  and  that  Babylonia  was  the  land  in 
which  they  had  their  first  national  development 
and  from  which  they  spread  over  western  Asia  to 
make  great  careers  as  Arabians,  Canaanites,  and 

'  A  great  controversy  has  raged  about  the  question  of  this  Sumerian  lan- 
guage. It  has  been  asserted  by  some  that  the  view  taken  here  is  wholly 
erroneous,  and  that  we  have  in  these  bilingual  texts  not  two  languages,  but 
simply  two  forms  of  writing.  According  to  this  view  the  so-called  Su- 
merian language  was  simply  a  cabalistic  method  of  sacred  writing,  invented 
for  their  own  purposes  by  Semitic  priests.  This  view,  first  proposed  in  this 
form  by  Halevy,  in  the  beginning  secured  some  converts,  but  has  latterly 
lost  ground.  To  the  present  writer  the  facts  seem  wholly  opposed  to  it 
See  Chapter  VII. 


306     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Aramaeans.'  This  view,  once  stated  and  sup- 
ported with  surpassing  learning,  is  now  almost 
abandoned,  and  but  few  great  names  may  be 
cited  among  its  modern  adherents.  A  second 
view  finds  the  original  home  of  the  Semites  in 
Africa,  either  in  the  northeastern*  or  north- 
western part  of  the  great  continent."  It  were  idle 
to  deny  that  strong  linguistic  support  for  this 
view  may  be  found  in  the  recognized  affinity  be- 
tween the  Semitic  languages  and  Egyptian,  Coptic, 
Berber,  and  the  Kushite  (Bisharee,  Galla,  Somali, 
etc.)  languages.  But  when  all  has  been  said  in 
favor  of  this  view  there  still  remain  more  potent 

'  The  northern  origin  of  the  Semites  was  adopted  by  Renan,  Histoire 
generale  des  langues  semitiques,  2d  edit.,  p.  29,  but  the  strongest  argument 
for  it  is  presented  by  J.  Guidi,  Delia  Sede  prhnitiva  dei  Popolo  Semitici, 
in  the  Memoi-ie  della  R.  Accademia  dei  Lincei,  3d  series,  vol.  iii.  (Some 
additions  are  made  to  the  evidences  of  Guidi  by  Jacob  Krall,  Onmdriss  der 
altorientalischen  Geschichfe,  I  Theil,  Wien,  1899,  p.  31.)  To  this  same  view- 
adheres  Hommel,  who  has  devoted  much  learning  to  its  exposition  and 
defense ;  for  example.  La  Patrie  originaire  des  Semites,  in  the  Atti  del  IV 
Congresso  Internationale  degli  Orientalisti,  vol.  i,  pp.  217-228,  Firenze, 
1880;  Die  JVamen  dei'  Saugethiere,  Leipzig,  1879,  pp.  496,  ff. ;  Die  Semi- 
tischen  Volker  mid  Sprachen,  pp.  7,  11,  12,  59-63,  95,  ff. ;  Die  Sprach- 
geschichtliche  Stellung  des  Babylonisch-assyrischen  (Etudes  archeologiques 
linguistiques  et  hi.storiques  dediees  a  C.  Leemans,  Leide,  1885,  pp.  12*7-129) 
and  Oeschichte  Bahyloniens  und  Assyriens.     Berlin,  1885,  p.  267. 

-  Noldeke,  Theodor,  Die  Semitischen  Sprachen,  2**^  Auflage.  Leipzig, 
1899,  p.  11.  Noldeke  puts  forward  this  view  very  tentatively  and  only  as 
an  hypothesis,  and  admits  "  dass  die  Herkunft  aller  Semiten  aus  Arabien 
sehr  wohl  denkbar  ware  "  (p.  13). 

^Professor  D.  G.  Brinton,  of  Philadelphia,  has  suggested  northwestern 
Africa  as  the  primitive  seat  of  the  Semites,  and  has  supported  it  with 
many  arguments,  chiefly  ethnological.  His  paper,  read  before  the  Phila- 
delphia Oriental  Club,  has  been  printed  together  with  a  criticism  by  Pro- 
fessor Jastrow,  who  inclines  to  Noldeke's  view  rather  than  to  Brinton's.  Tlie 
Cradle  of  the  Semites,  by  Daniel  G.  Brinton,  M.  D.,  and  Morris  Jastrow,  Jr., 
Ph.D.,  Philadelphia,  1890. 


PEOPLES  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRL\.      3u7 

considerations  in  favor  of  a  third  view,  that  tlie 
original  home  of  the  Semites  was  in  Arabia/  out  of 
which  they  came  in  successive  waves  of  migration 
to  find  larger  and  more  bountiful  lauds  in  Baby- 
lonia, Mesopotamia,  and  even  in  the  far  western 
land  of  Canaan.  This  latter  view  seems  ever  to 
win  new  adherents  and  may  be  said  now  to  be 
generally  accepted  by  modern  scholars.  The 
Babylonians  conquered  the  Sumerians,  di'ove  some 
of  them  out,  destroyed  others,  and  assimilated  the 
rest.  During  the  long  course  of  their  history 
they  remained  as  unchanged  and  unchangeable  as 
the  Egyptians.  They  were  powei-ful  in  warfare 
at  first,  but  gradually  cast  aside  the  warlike  spirit 
and  became  so  devoted  to  the  arts  of  peace  as  to 
be  unable  to  defend  their  country  from  inva- 
sion, which  happened  again  and  again  during  their 
long  history.  Yet  so  great  was  their  vitality  and 
so  marked  their  racial  individuality  that  they 
always  triumphed  in  the  end  and  absorbed  their 
conquerors.  Just  as  their  type,  the  distinctive 
Semitic  type,  prevailed  over  the  Sumeriau,  so  also 
did  it  prevail  over  the  Kassites,  Elamites,  and 
that  long  line  of  lesser  peoples  who  conquered 
them  in  part  or  settled  among  them  peaceably. 

•  Sayce,  Assyrian  Grammar  for  Comparative  Purposes,  1st  ed.,  p.  13. 
E.  Sclirader,  Die  Ahstammung  tier  Chaldcxer  wid  die  Ursitze  der  Semiiev, 
in  the  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenliindischen  Gesellschaft,  xxvii,  pp. 
397,  ff.  Tide,  Babylonisch-Assyrische  Geschichte,  pp.  106,  107.  Ed. 
Meyer,  Geschichte  des  Altertums,  i,  pp.  207,  ff.  Keane,  ^fan  Past  and 
Present,  pp.  490,  491.  Winckler,  Die  Volker  Vorderasiens.  Leipzig,  1899, 
p.  10.  Winckler  states  the  general  movements  and  the  general  relation- 
ships of  the  Semitic  peoples  very  admirably  in  this  brief  tract. 


308     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

The  Babylonians  were  devoted  chiefly  to  religion 
and  to  literature,  as  their  remains  would  seem  to 
indicate.  It  was  they  who  erected  the  largest 
temples  that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  as  the 
materials  used  were  perishable,  ever  reerected  and 
restored  them.  It  was  they  who  provided  these 
temples  with  books,  liturgies,  hymns,  and  prayers, 
and  heaped  up  thousands  of  tablets  recording  all 
these  building  operations  and  giving  glory  and 
honor  to  the  gods  who  had  inspired  the  work. 
p'  Out  of  the  Babylonian  people  sprang  the  As- 
syrians, for  Assyria  was  colonized  from  Babylonia. 
Though  of  the  same  blood,  the  Assyrians  gradu- 
ally became  a  very  different  people.  Less  exposed 
to  invasion  during  a  large  part  of  their  history 
than  the  Babylonians,  they  remained  of  much 
purer  Semitic  blood.  In  religion,  in  language, 
and  in  literature  they  continued  to  the  end  ever 
dependent  upon  the  southern  people.  Their  cli- 
mate belonged  to  the  temperate  rather  than 
to  the  subtropical  zone,  and  the  inclemency  of 
wintei's  over  at  least  part  of  their  little  king- 
dom served  to  toughen  their  fiber,  while  their 
early  efibrts  at  conquest  gradually  hardened  them 
into  the  form  which  they  bore  during  all  their 
histoiy.  They  became  a  military  people  on  the 
one  hand,  and  a  commercial  people  on  the  other. 
Early  accustomed  to  blood  and  fire,  they  became 
totally  unlike  the  peace-loving  Babylonians,  and 
their  history  is  filled  with  deeds  of  almost  unpar- 
alleled savagery.    Wherever  their  armies  marched 


PEOPLES  OF  BABYLONIA.  AND  ASSYRIA.      309 

women  were  ravished,  men  "svere  mutilated  or 
flayed  alive,  houses  and  cities  and  fields  of  grain 
were  given  to  the  torch,  and  desolation  and  ruin 
were  left  behind.  Yet  out  of  this  conquest  they 
achieved  empire,  and  sobered  by  its  burdens, 
learned  to  govern  as  well  as  to  destroy,  and  de- 
vised methods  of  subjection  and  of  rule,  which 
were  afterward  applied  by  a  people  w^ho  in  cer- 
tain respects  much  resembled  them,  the  Romans. 
Along  with  this  development  in  the  arts  of  war 
and  the  practice  of  government  there  went  a  great 
growth  in  trade.  The  Assyrian  traders  invaded 
the  whole  East  and  took  gain  both  from  buying 
and  from  selling,  from  transport  and  from  storage. 
They  influenced  the  king  to  conquest  in  more 
than  one  instance  that  the  field  of  their  operations 
and  the  extent  of  their  money  getting  might  be 
increased.  That  they  contributed  to  civilization 
by  their  barter  and  trade  there  is  no  doubt,  and 
this  result  affords  a  bright  contrast  to  the  weary 
details  of  blood  and  fire  which  otherwise  would 
fill  the  whole  canvas.  Yet,  though  thus  given 
over  in  large  measure  to  war  and  commerce,  the 
Assyrians  knew  their  lack  and  ever  looked  wdth 
envy  to  the  superior  civilization  of  Babylonia. 
Some  of  their  kings  imitated  the  Babylonians  in 
the  founding  and  storing  of  libraries  with  books 
of  religion  and  literature  and  not  merely  with 
boastful  narratives  of  bloody  conquest.  Others 
bore  witness  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  Baby- 
lonian culture  by  conquering  jiarts  of  that  country 


310     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

that  they  might  worship  at  its  ancient  shrines  and 
add  to  their  names  royal  titles,  bestowed  by  an 
hereditary  priesthood,  which  had  come  down  from 
an  immemorial  past.  Thus  were  mixed  up  in  the 
Assyrian  nature  elements  both  of  barbarism  and 
of  civilization,  and  now  one  and  now  the  other 
is  manifested  in  the  work  which  they  did  in  the 
world.  But  when  the  whole  history  is  surveyed, 
as  in  a  panorama,  the  barbarism  must  be  admit- 
ted to  prevail  over  the  civilization  and  the  total 
impression  to  be  less  favorable  than  that  which 
the  Babylonians  make  upon  us. 

Long  after  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians  had 
risen  to  power  in  the  world  the  great  valley  came 
to  know  another  people  who  called  themselves 
Kaldu,  and  were  known  to  the  Hebrews  as  Kasdim, 
to  the  Greeks  as  Chaldaioi  (XaX6aioi\  from  whom 
we  have  called  them  Chaldeans.  They  were  un- 
doubtedly Semites,*  for  not  only  are  their  names 
purely  Semitic,  but  their  religion,  manner  of  life, 
and  adaptation  to  Semitic  usages  all  bear  the 
same  stamp  as  those  of  the  Semitic  Babylonians. 
The  origin  of  the  Chaldeans  is,  like  that  of  the 
Babylonians,  lost  in  the  past.  They  also  probably 
came  out  of  the  heart  of  Arabia  and  settled  first 
along  the  western  shore  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  push- 
ing gradually  northward  until  they  held  the  coun- 
try about  the  mouths  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates. 

'  Jensen  has  suggested  that  they  were  "  Semitized  Sumerians,"  and  Leh- 
inann  appears  to  agree  with  him  (Lehmann,  Shamashshumnkin,  p.  173), 
but  at  best  the  opinion  is  merely  a  guess  and  has  no  direct  support  in  the 
inscriptions. 


PEOPLES  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA.      311 

From  that  district  they  begin  the  loug  series  of 
incursions  which  finally  won  for  them  the  control 
of  Babylonia,  and  made  them  the  heirs  of  the 
Babylonian  people  in  civilization  and  in  empire. 
In  the  beginning  they  ^vere  nomads  and  tillers  of 
the  soil,  but  became  men  of  the  city  and  formed 
little  city  kingdoms  similar  to  those  which  had  ex- 
isted in  the  early  days  of  Babylonian  civilization. 
The  lines  of  their  development  were,  however, 
more  similar  to  those  of  the  Assyrians  than  to 
those  of  the  Babylonians.  They  developed  mili- 
tary prowess  and  founded  a  great  empire  by  the 
s\vord.  Its  extension  toward  the  west  was  marked 
by  bloodshed  and  the  destruction  of  ancient  cen- 
ters of  civilization.  But  later  the  objects  of  civi- 
lization were  furthered  by  them  and  their  kings 
became  patrons  of  learning.  In  this  latter  stage 
they  are  perhaps  to  be  regarded  as  having  lost 
their  national  life  and  character  and  as  trans- 
formed by  the  Babylonian  civilization  which  they 
had  conquered. 

The  Sumerians,  the  Babylonians,  the  Assyrians, 
and  the  Chaldeans — these  were  the  peoples  who 
wrought  out  the  history  here  to  be  narrated.  Be- 
sides these  there  were  many  other  lesser  peoj)les 
who  contributed  to  the  movements  w^hich  are  to 
be  told,  but  their  characterization  may  best  be  left 
to  the  time  of  their  appearance  in  the  narrative, 
as  they  were  secondary  rather  than  primary  actors 
in  the  great  drama. 


313     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

THE    CHKONOLOGY. 

Unlike  the  Egyptians,  both  the  Assyrians  and 
Babylonians,  but  especially  the  latter,  gave  much 
attention  to  chronology,  seeking  in  a  number  of 
different  ways  to  preserve  the  order  of  events  and 
to  construct  a  backbone  for  their  historical  recol- 
lections. The  chronological  material  thus  pro- 
duced must  have  been  very  extensive,  for  the 
portions  which  have  come  down  to  us  are  silent 
witnesses  of  the  yet  unrecovered  or  totally  de- 
stroyed materials  of  which  they  were  but  frag- 
ments. Our  chronology  of  the  history  of  these 
people  must  be  based  primarily  upon  their  OAvn 
chronological  materials,  but  from  certain  of  the 
Greek  wiiters  useful  material  is  secured.  All 
this  material  may  here  be  grouped  in  order,  accom- 
panied by  notes  upon  its  value  and  use,  as  sources 
for  chronology. 

A. BABYLOinAN   AND    ASSYRIAN   MoNUMENTS. 

I.  Babylonian  Chronological  Materials.  Tlie 
Babylonian  priests,  historiographers  and  chronog- 
raphers  have  left  us  an  enormous  mass  of  chrono- 
logical materials,  all  now  in  a  fragmentary  state, 
but  showing   clearly  how  much   importance  was 


THE   CHRONOLOGY.  313 

attached  by  them  to  the  arrangement  of  historical 
facts  in  due  order  of  time.  These  original  sources 
may  thus  be  arranged  : 

1.  The  Babylonian  King  List  A.  A  brief  list 
of  the  names  of  the  kings  of  several  Babylonian 
dynasties,  now  badly  broken,  with  many  names 
missing.  By  the  side  of  each  king's  name  is  given 
the  number  of  years  of  his  reign,  and  at  the  end 
of  each  dynasty  also  a  summation  of  the  years  of 
reign  of  all  the  kings  of  that  dynasty.* 

2.  The  Bdbyloniaii  King  List  B.  A  list  of 
Babylonian  kings,  containing  the  names  and  yeai-s 
of  reign  of  the  king's  of  the  first  and  second  dynas- 
ties, with  the  years  of  reign  of  each  one,  and  also 
the  summation  as  before." 

3.  A  Babylonian  Chronological  Tablet  of 
Dynasty  /(cited  here  as  C).'  There  has  recently 
been  discovered  in  the  collections  of  the  British 
Museum  an  extremely  valuable  chronological 
tablet,    dated   in    the     reign    of    Ammi-sadugga, 

'•  '^  These  two  King  Lists  have  been  repeatedly  copied,  collated,  and  veri- 
fied. The  chief  literature  upon  them  is  as  follows :  (a)  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archceology,  1884,  pp.  193-204  (Pinches),  (b)  Sitzungs- 
herichte  der  Berl.  Ak.  der  Wissenschafien,  188*7,  pp.  579-607  (Schrader). 
(c)  Assyrische  Oebete  an  den  Sonnengoti,  I  u.  II,  Leipzig,  1894  (Knudtzou). 
{d)  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaology,  1888,  pp.  22,  ff. 
(Pinches),  (e)  Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek,  Berlin,  1890,  vol.  ii,  pp.  286, 
ff.  (Schrader).  (f)  Zwei  Hauptprobleme  der  altorientalischen  Chronologie  und 
ihre  Losung,  Leipzig  1898  (Lehmann). 

3(a)  The  text  is  catalogued  in  British  Museum  as  BU.  91-5-9,  284, 
and  is  published  in  Cuneiform  Texts  from  Babylonian  Tablets,  etc.,  in  the 
British  Museum.  Part  VI,  edited  by  E.  A.  W.  Budge.  London,  1898 
(copied  by  Pinches),  (b)  The  new  Babylonian  Chronological  Tablet  (BU. 
91-5-9,  284,  with  translation).  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archeology,  January,  1899  (Savce).  (c)  King,  Hamnmrabi,  ii  and  ill. 
22  ' 


314     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

giving  lists  of  important  events  in  the  years  of 
reign  of  all  the  kings  of  the  fii'st  dynasty  down  to 
Ammi-sadugga.  At  the  end  of  each  list  of  ev^ents 
is  given  the  number  of  years  that  each  king 
reigned.  The  disturbing  fact  about  this  list  is 
that  the  figures  given  in  it  do  not  tally  with  those 
given  in  tablets  A  and  B.  For  example,  in  A  and  B, 
Sumuabi  reigns  15  years,  but  here  14,  so  also  for 
Sumu-la-ilu  is  here  given  36  years  instead  of  35, 
for  Sin-muballit  20  instead  of  30,  for  Hammurabi 
43  instead  of  55,  and  for  Samsu-iluna  38  instead 
35  years.  Previous  to  the  discovery  of  this  tablet 
lists  A  and  B  had  been  followed  as  closely  as 
possible  by  all  chronologists.  This  procedure 
must  now  be  changed  and  the  new  tablet  con- 
sidered, for  it  was  written  while  this  dynasty  was 
still  on  the  throne,  and  the  summaries  agree  exactly 
with  the  yearly  lists  of  principal  events. 

4.  Fragments  of  a  Babylonian  Chronicle  (^, 
cited  hy  some  as  S).'  A  badly  broken  tablet,  con- 
taining originally  six  columns,  of  which  only 
column  V  nearly  complete,  and  parts  of  columns 
II  and  IV  now  remain.  It  contains  in  brief 
chronicle  fashion  mention  of  certain  important 
events  in  the  reigns  of  Babylonian  kings  of  the 
dynasties  of  the  Sea  Lands  and  of  Bazi. 

5.  The  Babylonian    Chronicle  {By    A  large 

'  First  discovered  and  published  by  George  Smith,  Tratisactions  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  ArchcBology,  iii,  pp.  361,  ff.  The  text  is  republished  by 
Winckler,  Untersuchungen^  p.  153. 

'  See  the  following  publications,  (a)  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Bibli- 
cal Archeology,  \\,  pp.  193,  ff.  (Pinches),     (b)  Zeitschrift  Jilr  Assyriologie, 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  315 

tablet  containing  one  hundred  and  seventy-six 
lines  of  writing,  dated  in  the  twenty-second  year 
of  Darius  I,  and  containing  brief  chronicles  of  the 
chief  events  in  the  reigns  of  Babylonian  kings 
from  Nabonassar  to  Saosduchiuos,  and  of  Assy- 
rian kings  from  Tiglathpileser  III  to  Asshur- 
banapal. 

6.  Fragments  of  a  Babylonian  Chronicle  of 
Nahonidus  {Nab.  Ohron).'  A  small  broken  tablet 
containing  a  chronicle  of  events  of  the  last  years 
of  the  reign  of  Nabonidus  and  the  taking  of  Baby- 
lon by  Cyrus. 

7.  Fragments  of  a  Babylonian  Chronicle  {cited 
as  P).^  An  unbaked  tablet,  originally  about  eight 
inches  square,  containing  accounts  of  expeditions 
made  by  some  of  the  early  Babylonian  kings 
against  external  enemies.  Less  than  one  third  of 
the  tablet  is  preserved.  That  which  remains  be- 
gins in  the  reign  of  Kadashman-Kliarbe,  son  of 
Karakhardash.  The  style  of  this  chronicle  is  so 
similar  to  that  of  one  of  the  Assyrian  lists  that  it 
is  probable  the  latter  was  copied  from  this. 

Besides  these  direct  statements  made  in  inscrip- 


ii,  pp.  148,  flf.  (Winckler).  (c)  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  xix, 
pp.  655,  ff.  (Pinches),     (d)  Abel-Winckler,  Keilschrifttexte,  pp.  47,  48. 

'  (a)  On  a  Cuneiform  Inscription  relating  to  the  capture  of  Babylon  by 
Cyrus,  and  the  events  which  preceded  and  led  to  it.  Transactions  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archeology,  1881,  vii,  139,  If.  (Pinches),  (b)  Untersnch- 
ungen  zur  altoriental.  Geschichte,  pp.  164,  155  (Winckler). 

'(a)  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  October,  1894,  pp.  807,  S. 
(Pinches.)  (b)  Records  of  the  Past,  new  series,  vol.  v,  pp.  106,  ff.  (Pinches.) 
(c)  Alttestamentliche  Untersuchnngen,  Lepzig,  1893-97,  pp.  115,  116,  122, 
124,  and  297,  ff.  (Winckler). 


316     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

tions  for  purely  chronological  purposes  tlie  Baby. 
Ionian  texts  of  other  kinds,  both  historical  and 
contract,  contain  numerous  allusions  to  dates,  syn- 
chronisms, and  the  like.  The  more  important  of 
these  may  here  be  grouped  together  with  the  nec- 
essary comments  upon  their  meaning  or  bearing. 

8.  A  Boundary  Stone  Dated  the  Fourth  Year  of 
King  Bel-nadin-apli. '  In  this  text  it  is  stated 
that  from  Girkishar,  king  of  the  Sea  Lands,  to 
Nebuchadrezzar  I  there  were  six  hundred  and 
ninety-six  years.  This  does  not  seem  like  a  round 
number,  and  if  we  could  bring  it  to  bear  upon 
some  fact  already  known  to  us,  it  would  be  ex- 
tremely valuable.  But  the  only  king  known  to 
us  (who  is  known  as  king  of  the  Sea  Lands)  is 
Gul-ki-shar  (or  kur  ?)  the  sixth  king  of  the  second 
dynasty.  The  names  are  not  identical,  though 
they  are  judged  to  mean  the  same  person  by  sev- 
eral scholars."  Where  so  great  doubt  exists  it  is 
hardly  safe  to  lay  much  stress  upon  the  chrono- 
logical statement  here  made.  Future  investiga- 
tion wall  probably  clear  the  matter  of  all  doubt. 

9.  In  an  inscription  of  Nabonidus  occurs  this 
statement  with  reference  to  one  of  the  early  kings : 

'  Hilprecht,  Old  Babylonian  Inscriptions,  vol.  i,  part  i,  pi.  30,  text  83. 

2  For  example,  by  Hilprecht,  Assyriaca  (Boston,  1894),  pp.  20,  ff.,  and  also 
by  Hommel  in  Hastings,  Bible  Dictionary,  i,  pp.  223,  224,  and  in  Expository 
Times.  On  the  other  hand,  Winckler  (Altorie>italische  Forschunffeti,  i,  p.  130, 
footnote  3,  and  also  p.  267),  Rost  ( Untersuchungen  zur  Altorientalischen  Ge- 
schichie,  in  Mittheilungen  der  Vorderasiatischen  Gesellschaft,  189*7,  p.  16), 
and  Lehmann  (Zwei  Hauptprobleme,  pp.  17,  18)  are  against  this  view.  Leh- 
mann  is  of  the  opinion,  also,  that  the  name  in  the  King  List  is  not  Gul- 
kishar,  but  perhaps  Gulkikur  (??)  (op.  cit.,  p.  17). 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  317 

"  The  name  of  Hammurabi,  one  of  the  old  kings, 
who  seven  hundred  years  before  Burnabmiash 
had  built  E-barra  and  the  temple  pyramids  on 
the  old  foundations,  I  saw  therein  and  read."  ' 

Like  the  preceding  notice,  this,  also,  is  of  doubt- 
ful application  and  therefore  of  doubtful  weight. 
Two  kings  by  the  name  of  Burnaburiash  are  known 
to  us,  but  as  they  reigned  very  close  together,  the 
choice  between  them  makes  little  difference.  They 
were  contemporaries  of  Amenophis  III,  king  of 
Egypt,  and  are  to  be  located  about  1400  B.  C.  If 
we  reckon  seven  hundred  years  backward  from 
this  date,  we  get  2100  B.  C.  as  the  period  of  Ham- 
murabi. This  date  is,  however,  irreconcilable  with 
the  Babylonian  King  Lists,  according  to  which 
Hammurabi  must  be  placed  about  2300  B.  C.  No 
solution  w^hich  meets  the  situation  is  yet  proposed 
for  this  difficulty.  The  most  tempting  way  out 
would  be  to  change  the  length  of  dynasty  HI, 
given  as  five  hundred  and  seventy-six  yeai's  and 
nine  months,  for  which  Rost '  would  suggest  three 
hundred  and  ninety-six,  but  if  this  be  done,  we 
have  simply  altered  our  sources,  and  are  reduced  to 
conjecture.  It  seems  wiser  for  the  present  to  abide 
by  the  King  Lists,  and  permit  this  round  number 
of  seven  hundred  years  to  stand  as  unexplained. 

10.  In  another  text  of  Nabonidus  there  occurs 
again  a  chronological  hint : 

"  E-DU-BAR,  his  temple  in  Sippar-An unit,  which 

'  I.  R.  69,  b.  4-8  (British  Museum  85,  4-30,  2,  col.  u,  20-26). 
'  Orientalistische  Zeitsckri/t,  iii,  col.  145  (1900). 


318     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

no  king  liad  built  for  eiglit  hundred  years,  since 
Shagarakti-Buriash,  king  of  Babylon,  son  of  Kudur- 
Bel.  His  foundation  inscription  I  sought,  found, 
and  read." '  Nabonidus  reigned  555-539  B.  C,  if 
we  count  backward  eiglit  hundred  years,  we  reach 
for  Shagarakti-Buriash  the  period  about  1355  B.  C. 
The  difficulty  now  appears  of  deciding  who  this 
king  is.  He  must  clearly  belong  to  the  Kassite 
dynasty  (dynasty  HI),  and  since  the  name  of  Ku- 
dur  Bel  has  been  identified  as  No.  26  on  the  King 
List  there  seems  little  doubt  that  the  king  here 
meant  is  Shagarakti-Shuriash,*  some  of  whose  in- 
scriptions have  come  down  to  us.  In  the  tentative 
chronology  here  given  this  king  is  located  1298- 
1286,  which  approximates  with  sufficient  close- 
ness to  the  date  given  by  Nabonidus. 

11.  In  the  same  inscription  of  Nabonidus '  there 
is  given  still  further  a  chronological  note  which 
carries  us  far  back  into  the  past : 

" .  .  .  .  the  foundation  stone  of  Naram-Sin,  which 
no  king  before  me  had  found  for  3,200  years — 
[this]  Shamash  the  great  Lord  of  E-barra  .  .  . 
showed  to  me." 

If  we  accept  this,  we  are  carried  back  to  3750 
B.  C.  for  the  date  of  Naram-Sin,  and  therefore  to 
about  3800  B.  C.  for  his  father,  Sargon  I.  Over 
this  date  there  rages  a  ceaseless  controversy.  It 
was  at  first  generally  accepted,  for  example,  by 

'  V  R.  64,  c.  27-30,     Comp.  Keilinschrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  2,  p.  107. 
^  This  is  the  solution  to  which  Rost  is  attached  (Untei-mchungen,  pp.  15, 
51,  52). 

3Y  R.,  62  b.  57-60.     Comp.  KeUimchrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  2,  p.  105. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  319 

Oppert,'  Tiele,'  Hominei;  aud  DelitzscL.'  Of  tliese 
Hommel  afterward  became  persuaded  that  the 
date  was  too  liigli  and  proposed  to  reduce  it  to 
3400  B.  C/  Lelimaun  has  argued  learnedly  for  a 
reduction  of  Naram-Sin  to  2750  B.  C,"  and  Winck- 
ler'  has  expressed  doubt  about  the  matter.  Posi- 
tive proof  on  either  one  side  or  the  other  has  not 
yet  come  to  light,  and  for  the  present  it  seems 
best  to  hold  the  date  3800  B.  C.  tentatively,  pend- 
ing further  light  on  the  subject.  It  is  indeed 
hardly  probable  that  the  historiographers  of  Xa- 
bonidus  had  before  them  lists  which  carried  the 
dates  backward  to  the  exact  number  3,200.  It 
looks  like  a  round  number  and  was  probably  in- 
tended to  be  so  taken.  To  cast  it  away  altogether 
is,  however,  to  leave  us  in  the  dark  without  a 
single  definite  point  for  reckoning. 

12.  Asshurbanapal  in  his  narratives  of  victorious 
campaigns  in  Elam  has  also  provided  us  with  a 
chronological  note.  He  brought  back  to  its  place 
of  origin  a  statue  of  a  goddess  carried  away  to 
Elam  by  Kudur-nankhundi  1,635  years  before — ' 
that  is,  about  2285  B.  C.     This  appears  to  be  a 


'  Journal  Asiatiqne  (1883),  i,  p.  89. 

'  Oeschichte,  p.  114. 

^Ibid.,  pp.  166,  167. 

*  Delitzsch-Miirdter,  Geschichte  Bahylo7iiens  und  Assyriens,  2d  ed.,  pp. 
72,  f. 

'  Hastings,  Bib.  Diet.,  i,  p.  224. 

*Lehmann,  Zwei  Hauptprob.,  pp.  172,  ff. 

'  Untersiichungen,  p.  44,  f. 

8ni  R.  38,  1  a.  12-18.  Comp.  George  Smith,  Asshurbanipal,  pp.  250,  ff., 
and  Keilinseh'iftliche  Bibliothek,  ii,  p.  209,  foot  of  the  page. 


320     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

valuable  indication  of  time,  for  the  numeral  does 
not  look  like  a  round  number,  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  its  substantial  accuracy.  Neither 
is  there  any  special  difficulty  in  attaching  it  to  the 
other  historical  and  chronological  facts. 

13.  Sennacherib  also  has  left  a  very  definite 
date  in  one  of  his  inscriptions.     He  says : 

"  Adad  and  Shala,  the  gods  of  Ekallate,  whom 
Marduk-nadin-akhe,  king  of  Accad,  in  the  time  of 
Tiglathpileser,  king  of  Asshur,  had  taken  away 
and  brought  to  Babylon,  after  a  lapse  of  four 
hundred  and  eighteen  years,  I  have  taken  out  of 
Babylon  and  restored  to  Ekallate  their  place." ' 
This,  also,  like  the  preceding,  appears  to  be  not 
a  round  number,  but  the  result  of  some  careful 
calculation  or  to  rest  directly  upon  early  docu- 
ments. It  has,  nevertheless,  been  much  doubted  in 
quite  recent  times.  Host '  proposes  to  read  478  in 
order  to  bring  it  better  into  relation  with  what 
seems  to  him  to  be  the  order  of  events  demanded 
by  other  chronological  facts.  On  the  other  hand, 
Lehmann'  proposes  to  read  318  instead  of  418, 
because  that  figure  appears  better  to  fit  the  situa- 
tion as  demanded  by  the  other  facts.  Neither  of 
these  attempts  seems  to  be  well  founded.  It  is 
better  to  accept  a  number  like  this  as  final,  even 
though  it  appears  to  be  in  conflict  with  the  other 
facts  in  our  very  limited  knowledge  of  ancient 

'  III  R.,  14,  48-50.     Comp.  Keil.  Bibl,  ii,  p.  119. 
"  Untersuchungen^  p.  16. 
2  Zwei  Hauplprohl.^  p.  98,  ff. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  321 

Babylonia.  It  appears  on  the  face  of  the  matter 
to  be  more  worthy  of  credence  than  such  round 
numbers  as  600,  700,  800,  and  3,200.  If  we  ac- 
cept it  tentatively,  it  brings  out  our  reckoning  in 
this  way :  Sennacherib  has  dated  the  four  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  years  from  the  destruction  of 
Babylon  by  himself.  This  took  place  in  689,  and 
we  should  therefore  be  carried  back  to  1107  as 
a  date  during  the  reign  of  Marduk-nadin-akhe. 
To  this  date  may  be  added  another  fact  of  im- 
portance for  this  reign.  On  a  boundary  stone  of 
Marduk-nadin-akhe '  there  is  mention  of  a  victory 
over  Assyria  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign.  It  is 
most  natural  to  connect  this  victory  with  the 
removal  of  the  statues  to  which  Sennacherib  refers. 
This  would  make  1107  the  tenth  year  of  the  reign, 
and  therefore  1117  or  1116  the  first  year  of  his 
reign."  This  is  a  date  that  ought  not  lightly  to  be 
set  aside,  and  the  arguments  brought  against  it  by 
Rost  and  Lehmann  do  not  seem  to  be  decisive. 

These  are  all  the  notices  in  Babylonian  his- 
torical inscriptions  which  may  be  made  directly 
applicable  to  the  question  of  chronology.  It  has 
appeared  in  each  case  that  they  are  not  always  to 
be  reconciled  with  each  other  without  some  sort 
of  forcing.  Every  chronological  scheme  that  has 
been  proposed  has  in  some  way  made  accommoda- 
tions, either  by  altering  the  figures  or  by  rejecting 
some  of  them  altogether. 

1  III  R.  43,  col.  i,  5,  27,  28. 

"^  So  Hilprecht,   Old  Babyloyiian  Inscriptions^  j,  part  i,  p.  43,  and  Horn, 
mel  in  Hastings,  Bible  Dictionary,  i,  p.  224. 


322     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

In  addition  to  these  King  Lists,  chronicles,  and 
references  in  historical  inscriptions  the  chronolo- 
gist  secures  some  aid  from  genealogical  details. 
Thus  a  king  often  giv^es  his  father's  name,  and 
upon  his  father's  inscription  is  found  the  name  of 
the  grandfather.  By  such  simple  means  a  whole 
dynasty  may  be  arranged  in  correct  order. 

Even  more  important  than  this  are  external  in- 
dications of  age,  and  these  may  be  divided  into 
two  parts:  (1)  The  approximate  date  of  an  in- 
scription, and  hence  of  a  king  in  whose  reign  it 
was  written,  may  sometimes  be  obtained  from 
palseographical  indications.  A  study  of  the  forms 
of  characters  and  the  manner  of  their  writing  gives 
at  times  an  indication  of  the  period.  Likewise, 
also,  (2)  the  position  in  which  an  inscription  is 
found  within  a  mound  is  at  times  an  approximate 
indication  of  age.  Sometimes  the  finding  of  a 
text  beneath  the  pavement  of  known  age  may 
be  conclusive,  but  in  general  this  kind  of  evidence, 
as  also  that  drawn  from  palaeography,  is  rather 
precarious,  being  subject  to  too  many  possible  in- 
terpretations in  the  hands  of  different  persons. 
The  greatest  value  of  palaeography  and  of  archae- 
ology is  found  when  they  lend  additional  weight 
to  direct  statements  in  lists  or  in  chronological 
texts. 

If  now  we  turn  from  Babylonia  to  Assyria,  we 
shall  find  that  this  people,  also,  gave  great  atten- 
tion to  chronological  details,  and  partly  because 
we  are  nearer  to  them  and  partly  because  their 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  323 

monumental  remains  have  readied  us  in  a  rather 
better  condition  we  are  able  to  come  to  conclu- 
sions rather  more  satisfactory  than  in  the  case  of 
Babylonia. 

II.  Assyrian  Chronological  Material. 

1.  The  Assyrians  early  constructed  an  Eponym 
Canon.,  in  which  were  set  down  the  names  of  the 
chief  officers  of  the  state  in  regular  yearly  succes- 
sion. In  this  list  the  name  of  a  new  king  was 
always  entered  in  the  year  of  his  accession. 
There  was  thus  provided  an  admirable  method  of 
preserving  order  in  references  to  the  past,  and 
historical  inscriptions,  especially  in  a  colophon  at 
their  conclusion,  often  mention  the  limmu  or 
eponym  of  a  certain  year,  just  as  they  give  the 
name  of  the  king  who  was  reigning.  These 
eponyms  were  used  therefore  for  dating,  exactly 
as  in  later  times  the  Greeks  used  archons  and 
the  Romans,  consuls.  A  number  of  copies  of 
the  eponym  canons  must  have  existed,  for  numer- 
ous fragments  have  come  down  to  us.  These 
it  has  been  possible  to  piece  together  In  the 
correct  order  largely  by  means  of  the  Canon  of 
Ptolemy,  to  be  mentioned  below.  When  so  ar- 
ranged the  parts  which  have  come  down  to  us 
extend  from  B.  C.  902,  when  the  eponym  was 
Asshurdan,  to  B.  C.  667,  when  the  eponym  was 
Gabbaru.' 


'  See  ou  the  Eponym  Canon  In  general,  Selirader,  KeiUiiscliriften  iind 
Geschichtsforschimg,  Giessen,  ISVS,  pp.  299-356,  where  the  references  to 
the  original  texts  are  fri^en. 


324     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

2.  The  Assyrian  Expedition  Lists.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  Eponym  Canon,  which  is  characterized 
by  lists  of  names  only,  the  Assyrians  drew  up 
supplementary  lists  in  which  the  names  of 
eponyms  were  also  given,  and  by  the  side  of  each 
name  were  added  short  notices  of  important 
events  that  fell  in  his  year,  such  as  expeditions  to 
certain  countries  for  the  purpose  of  conquest. 
The  fragments  of  this  list  which  have  come  down 
to  us  begin  during  the  reign  of  Shamshi-Adad 
IV  (B.  C.  824-812),  and  brief  though  they  are, 
have  proved  of  immense  importance.  On  one  of 
these  fragments,  by  the  side  of  the  Eponym 
Pur(ilu)  8a-gal-e,  there  is  mentioned  an  eclipse  of 
the  sun  under  these  words,  "In  the  month  of 
Sivan  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the  sun."  Astro- 
nomical investigations  have  shown  that  a  total 
eclipse  of  the  sun  occurred  at  Nineveh  June  15, 
763  B.  C,  lasting  two  hours  and  forty-three  min- 
utes, with  the  middle  of  the  eclipse  at  10:05  a.  m. 
This  astronomical  calculation  gave  a  fixed  date  for 
the  year  of  that  eponym  and  thereby  fixed  every 
year  in  the  entu-e  canon.' 

3.  Synchronistic  History.  In  addition  to  these 
important  lists  we  have  also  lists  of  the  synchro- 
nisms between  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  beginning 
with  the  peace  treaties  between  Karaindash, 
king  of   Babylon,  and  Asshur-bel-nisheshu,  king 

'  On  these  Expedition  Lists  see  again  Schrader,  op.  cit.,  and  also  Winckler, 
Keilinschriftliches  Textbuch  zum  Alien  7Vs<a»ie?i<,  Leipzig,  1892,  pp.  61-67. 
Also  Schrader,  Cuneiform  hucriptions  and  the  Old  Testament,  ii,  pp.  178,  ff.^ 
Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothel;  Berlin,  1889,  vol.  i,  pp.  204,  flf. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  325 

of  Assyria.  This  synchronistic  history  is  written  in 
the  style  of  brief  chronicles,  and  is,  also,  unhappily 
fragmentary.' 

Besides  these  lists  and  chronicles  which  were 
made  for  chronological  purposes,  there  have  also 
come  down  to  us  in  historical  inscriptions  certain 
references  which  are  valuable  for  chronological 
purposes.  These  may  be  conveniently  enumerated 
as  follows : 

4.  The  statement  made  by  Sennacherib  (see 
under  Babylonia  No.  13,  pp.  320,  f.),  from  which  we 
recovered  the  date  1107  in  the  reign  of  Marduk- 
nadin-akhe,  is  useful,  also,  for  the  chronology  of 
Assyria,  for  from  it  w^e  obtain  the  date  1107  as 
falling  in  the  reign  of  Tiglathpileser  I. 

5.  From  the  inscriptions  of  Sennacherib,  and 
from  the  same  period  of  his  reign,  there  has  come 
to  us  a  note  that  assists  in  locating  an  early 
Assyrian  king.  At  Babylon  Sennacherib  found 
a  seal  of  Tukulti-Ninib  with  a  brief  inscription, 
to  which  he  added  an  inscription  of  his  own,  so 
that  the  whole  stood  as  follows : 

"Tukulti-Ninib,  king  of  the  world,  son  of  Shal- 
maneser,  king  of  Asshur,  conqueror  of  the  land  of 
Kardu.  Whoever  alters  my  writing  and  my  name, 
may  Asshur  and  Adad  destroy  his  name  and  land. 
This  seal  is  presented,  given,  from  Asshur  to 
Accad. 

"  Sennacherib,  king  of  Asshur,  after  six  hundred 

'  The  synchronistic  history  is  first  published  entire  by  F.  E.  Peiser  and 
Hugo  Winckler  in  Ke'dinscliriftliche  Bibliothek,  i,  pp.  194,  ff. 


326     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

years  conquered  Babylon  and  brought  it  away  from 
the  possessions  of  Babylon."  ' 

If  we  add  to  689,  the  date  of  the  destruction  of 
Babylon,  this  six  hundred  years,  we  get  the  date  of 
1289  as  falling  somewhere  within  the  reign  of 
Tukulti-Ninib. 

6.  In  the  inscriptions  of  Tiglathpileser  I  ap- 
pears this  note  concerning  two  of  the  early  Assyr- 
ian rulers : 

"At  that  time  the  temple  of  Anu  and  Adad, 
the  great  gods  my  lords,  which  in  former  times 
Shamshi-Adad,  isshakhi  of  Asshur,  son  of  Ishme- 
Dagan,  isshakhu  of  Asshur,  had  built,  for  six 
hundred  and  forty-one  years  had  been  falling 
down.  Asshurdan,  king  of  Assyria,  son  of  Ninib- 
apal-esharra,  king  of  Assyria,  had  torn  down  that 
temple,  but  had  not  rebuilt  it ;  for  sixty  years  its 
foundations  had  not  been  laid."* 

If  now  the  date  of  Tiglathpileser  is  correctly 
determined  above  under  No.  4,  the  addition  of 
sixty  years  to  it  will  give  the  date  1167  as  fall- 
ing within  the  reign  of  Asshurdan  and  1808  as 
falling  in  the  reign  of  Shamshi-Adad.  As  the 
date  from  which  Tiglathpileser  reckoned  back- 
ward is  not  certainly  known,  these  dates  may  vary 
a  few  years  in  either  direction,  but  will  probably 
be  a  little  higher. 

With  these  dates  the  special  allusions  in  As- 

'  III.  R.  4,  2.     Com.  KeilhischriftUche  Blbliothek,  i,  p.  11,  No.  1. 
'I.  R.   15,  col.  vii,  lines    60-70.     Com.  Keilinschriftliche  JBiblioihek,  i, 
p.  43,  and  Reconh  of  the  Pant,  new  series,  i,  p.  117. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  327 

Syrian  historical  inscriptious,  which  are  important 
for  our  purpose,  come  to  an  end. 

It  remains  no^v  only  that  we  turn  to  those 
sources  outside  of  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian 
inscriptions,  ^vhich  contain  chronological  material, 
which  may  be  of  importance  in  its  bearing  upon 
the  native  sources.  Of  these  the  first  in  impor- 
tance which  comes  to  us  from  the  Greeks  is  in 
reality  simply  Babylonian,  for  it  is  based  upon 
Babylonian  documents  originally. 

B. — Greek  Writers. 

I.  Berossos.  We  have  given  attention  above 
to  the  use  of  Berossos  as  a  source  for  the  his- 
tory, and  we  must  now  turn  to  his  chronolog- 
ical tables.  In  this  is  found  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult problems  with  which  the  chronologist  has  to 
deal.  As  has  already  been  shown,  the  Bahyloni- 
aca  of  Berossos  was  divided  into  three  books. 
The  first  book  described  the  origin  of  the  world 
and  of  man  and  continued  down  to  the  deluge. 
The  second  described  the  deluge  and  perhaps 
came  down  into  the  historical  period ;  and  the 
third  book  was  devoted  to  the  historical  period. 

The  manner  in  which  Berossos  has  come  down 
to  us  has  been  already  described,  and  that  mis- 
takes could  easily  creep  in  during  such  a  process 
may  easily  be  seen.  In  no  particular  would  mis- 
takes be  more  likely  to  appear  than  in  the  lists  of 
figures  in  his  chronological  lists,  and  as  a  matter  of 
fact  the  mistakes  are  indeed  very  evident.     If  we 


328     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

take  up  these  books  in  order,  we  shall  speedily  see 
what  material,  if  any,  of  value  may  be  found  in 
them.  According  to  Berossos  there  reigned  be- 
fore the  flood  ten  kings  during  a  period  of  one 
hundi'ed  and  twenty  sai*s.  The  sar  is  3,600  years ; 
that  is,  these  kings  reigned  432,000  years.  As 
these  statements  have  come  down  to  us  both  in 
Eusebius  and  in  the  Syncellus,  they  may  be  re- 
garded as  certainly  coming  from  Berossos. 

Book  I.  10  kings  =  120  sars  ==  432,000  years.^ 

If  we  tui'n  to  Book  II,  we  find  that  there  is  a 
difference  between  the  sources  in  which  Berossos 
has  been  preserved  for  us. 

According  to  the  Syncellus  (ed.  Dindorf,  p.  147, 
line  12)  there  were  86  kings  who  ruled  34,080 
j^ears,  to  which  is  added  also  the  explanation  9 
sai-s  at  3,600,  2  ners  at  600,  and  8  sos  at  60  =  34,080. 
On  the  other  hand,  Eusebius  {Ghron.^  ed.  Schoene, 
i,  p.  26)  says  that  these  86  kings  ruled  33,091  years, 
which  is,  in  all  probability,  simply  a  mistake  for 
34,09 1.  There  is  therefore  exactty  eleven  years  dif- 
ference between  the  Syncellus  and  Eusebius  in  this 
report,  which  would  correspond  to  the  difference 
between  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great  (323 
B.  C.)  and  the  beginning  of  the  Seleucid  era  (312).' 

How  are  these  figures  to  be  interpreted?  The 
most  probable  explanation  is  that  first  suggested, 
and  later  amplified  and  corrected  by  Alft-ed  von 

'  Eusebius,  Chron.,  ed.  Schoene,  i,  p.  9 ;  Syncellus,  ed.  Dindorf. 
*  So  Rost,  Untet'suchmigen,  p.  9. 

^  V.  Gutsohmid's  first  paper  appeared  in  the  Rheinisches  Mmeum  fur 
Philologie,  Neue  Folge,  Band  viii  (1853),  pp.  252-267.     It  is  reprinted  in 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  329 

Gutschmid/  that  tlie  Babylonians  bad  grouped  tbeir 
kings  of  tbe  post  deluge  period  in  a  cycle  of  36,000 
years.  If  now  we  take  from  tbis  number  tbe  num- 
ber 34,080  preserved  by  tbe  Syncellus,  ^ye  have  left 
exactly  1,920  years  for  tbe  historical  list  of  kings. 
If  we  could  find  tbe  point  at  wbicb  these  1,920 
years  terminated,  we  shall  arrive  at  tbe  point  at 
which  Babylonian  history  begins.  Many  have 
been  the  views  on  this  subject,  but  a  consensus  of 
opinion  is  now  gradually  forming  as  the  result  of 
a  suggestion  first  oftered  by  Peiser.'  There  is  pre- 
served in  Abydenus,  according  to  Eusebius,  this 
sentence,  '■'' Hoc ixicto  Chaldaei  suae  regionis  reges  ah 
Aloro  usque  ad  Alexandrum  recensent ;  "  that  is, "  In 
this  manner  tbe  Chaldeans  reckon  the  kings  of  their 
land  from  Aloros  to  Alexander."  By  the  word  Chal- 
daei is  here  meant  doubtless  Berossos,  and  from 
this  we  learn  that  Berossos  bad  continued  his  his- 
tory to  Alexander,  and  tbe  king  here  meant  is  cer- 
tainly Alexander,  son  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
Do  the  1,920  years  end  here  ?     It  is  probable  that 


Kleine  Schriften,  von  Alfred  von  Gutschmiil.  herausgegeben  von  Franz 
Riihl  (Leipzig,  1890),  ii,  pp.  97-114.  Much  of  this  paper  was  withdrawn 
by  von  Gutschmid  in  a  review-  of  Brandis,  Uebtr  den  ?iist.  Gewinn  aus  der 
Enlzifferung  der  assyr.  Inschriffeu  in  Kene  Jalirbiicher  fiir  Philologie,liiuu\ 
Ixxiii  (1856),  pp.  405-421  (reprinted  Kleine  Schriften,  ii,  pp.  115,  ff.), 
and  was  modified  later  in  Beitrdge  znr  Geschichte  des  Alien  Orients  (1858), 
pp.  18,  ff.,  and  in  Neue  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  dvs  Alten  Orients  (Leipzig, 
1876),  pp.  115,  ff. 

1  Zeitschrift  fiir  Assgriologie,  vi,  pp.  264,  ff.  This  suggestion  had  pre- 
viously been  made  by  Floigl,  v.,  Die  Chronologie  der  Bibel  des  Manetho 
nnd  Beros.  Leipzig,  1880,  p.  259,  Geschichte  des  semitischen  Altertnms  in 
Tnbellen,  Leipzig,  1882,  p.  7,  but  had  escaped  the  attention  of  scholars 
generally.  Peiser's  suggestion  was  independent  of  Floigl. 
23 


330     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

they  do.  It  is  indeed  most  probable  that  they 
extended  down  to  the  Seleucid  era  in  312,  for 
Berossos  would  surely  be  glad  to  pay  such  a  com- 
pliment to  these  rulers,  to  one  of  whom  he  had  dedi- 
cated his  book.'  If  now  we  date  backward  from 
812  (or  311,  the  date  of  Alexander's  death),  we  ar- 
rive at  2232  or  2231  as  the  year  of  the  beginning 
of  Babylonian  history  according  to  Berossos.  But 
immediately  that  we  attempt  to  determine  where 
to  place  this  date  in  our  Babylonian  chronology 
difficulties  begin.  Lehmann  would  locate  it  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Hammurabi  as  the  year  when  all 
Babylonia  was  united  under  one  scepter  and  Bel- 
Marduk  became  the  national  deity.  On  the  other 
hand,  Host  would  accept  it  as  the  date  of  the  be- 
ginning of  the  first  dynasty.  There  is  no  decisive 
argument  in  favor  of  either  view,  and  it  is  easy 
to  imagine  that  it  may  refer  to  some  other  event 
of  consequence.  It  were  folly  to  accept  it  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  dates  which  have  come  down  to 
us  from  original  Babylonian  sources. 

It  is  believed  by  some  scholars  (Lehmann,  Rost, 
Marquart)  that  the  date  2232-2231  is  confirmed 
from  another  Greek  source,  and  this  must  be  con- 
sidered. 

Simplicius  in  his  commentary  upon  Aristotle's 
treatise,  Uepi  ovgavov  (De  Caelo),  says  that  Callis- 
thenes  had  been  asked  by  Aristotle  to  send  to 
Greece  any  records  of  astronomical  observations 

'  So   Rost,    Untersuchuuffen,   p.  4.     Lehmann    agrees    with   this   (Ztoel 
ffauptprobl.,  p.  107)  on  slightly  different  grounds. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  331 

which  he  might  find  in  Babylon.  This  Callisthenes 
did,  after  entering  Babylon  with  Alexander  the 
Great  in  the  autumn  of  331  B.  C.  Upon  the 
authority  of  Porphyrins,  Simplicius  avers  that 
Callisthenes  found  such  observations  extending 
back  for  31,000  years.'  There  is,  however,  grave 
doubt  about  this  figure.  A  Latin  translation  by 
Moerbeka  (about  1271  A.  D.)  reads  1903,  which 
is  in  itself  more  reasonable.  Furthermore,  the 
reading  31,000,  assuming  it  to  be  an  error,  can 
readily  be  explained  on  palaeographical  grounds." 
Lehmann  therefore  insists  that  the  reading  1903 
is  original,  and  proposes  to  use  it  as  dating  back- 
ward from  331  B.  C,  which  would  yield  2233  B.  C. 
as  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  the  observa- 
tions. This  would  agree  remarkably  well  with 
Berossos,  and  so  confirm  it  from  the  astronomical 
side.  But  the  difficulty  about  the  text  is  fatal  to 
confidence  in  it.  The  figure  31,000  is  actually  in 
our  only  original  witness  to  the  text,  and  it  can- 
not be  proved  that  1903  was  actually  in  the  codex 
which  Moerbeka  used."  The  numeral  31,000  in- 
deed is  just  such  a  number  as  is  afforded  by  other 
of  the  Greek  writers.     Pliny  states  that  the  num- 

•  Simplicii  in  Aristotelis  "  De  Caelo  "  commentario.  Consilio  et  autori- 
tate  Academiae  Litterarum  Regiae  Borussicae  editit  J.  S.  Heiberg,  Berlin, 
1894,  p.  506,  line  14. 

'See  the  discussion  in  Lehmann,  Zwei  Hauptprob.,  p.  109,  and  especially 
the  palfeographical  observations  of  Professor  Diels  on  p.  110,  and  the 
Nachtrage  on  p.  210. 

^  Rost  ( Untersuchungen)  has  worked  out  the  same  comparison  as  Leh- 
mann in  practically  the  same  way,  but  independently  of  him. 


333     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

ber  of  years  given  by  Berossos  was  490,000,'  and 
Diodorus  makes  it  473,000/  The  numerals  in  all 
these  copyists  of  Berossos  seem  in  a  hopeless 
tangle,  and  it  is  useless  to  attempt  to  build  any 
solid  chronological  structure  upon  them. 

Having  failed  in  this  search  for  a  starting  point 
of  Babylonian  chronology  by  means  of  Berossos 
and  Simplicius,  we  must  search  still  further  to  see 
if  there  be  left  anywhere  else  in  Berossos  even 
one  single  point  that  might  be  useful  in  connec- 
tion with  the  native  sources.  Schwartz  has  lately 
subjected  the  whole  of  the  fragments  of  Berossos 
to  a  searching  examination  and  arrives  at  the  con- 
clusion that  the  following  scheme  may  be  regarded 
as  certain:' 

I.  10  Kings  before  the  flood 

120Sars=  432,000 

II.  86  Kings  after  the  flood . .  34,090 

8  Median  Usurpers 224  [2448-7  B.  C— 2234-3] 

11   Kings 248  [2224-3  —1976-5] 

49  Chaldean  Kings 458  [1976-5  —1518-7] 

9  Arabian  Kings 245  [1518-7  -1273-2] 

45   Kings 526  [1273-2  -747-6] 

III.   From  Nabonassar  to  Cyrus  206  [  747-6  -538-7] 

Total 468,000  =  130  Sars 

From  Cyrus  to  Alexander's 
Death 215  [  538-7  -323-2] 

Grand  Total 468,215 

>  Pliny,  Kat.  Hist.,  rii,  57  (ed.  Mayhoff,  Teubner,  ii,  p.  49). 
2  Diodorus,  ii,  81  (ed.  Dindorf,  Lips.,  1828,  i,  p.  181). 
^Scliwartz    in  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-EncyclopiXdie  der  class.   AUerturns- 
wissensehaff,  ii,  p.  314. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  333 

It  is  utterly  impossible  to  reconcile  this  scheme 
with  that  which  has  been  preserved  for  us  by  the 
Babylonian  King  Lists  and  Chronicles.  We  do  not 
find  the  same  divisions  of  dynasties  in  the  latter^ 
nor  do  we  understand  who  are  meant  by  the 
Median,  Chaldean,  and  Arabian  usurpers  and 
kings.  The  learned  and  ingenious  efforts  made  by 
Hommel'  to  reconcile  them  are  not  generally  re- 
garded as  at  all  successful,  nor  have  later  attempts 
been  any  more  fruitful.  Like  a  number  of  other 
problems,  this  must  be  left  unsolved,  at  least  for 
the  present. 

II.  The  Canon  of  Ptolemy.  Among  the  works 
left  by  Claudius  Ptolemseus,  an  eminent  Egyptian 
astronomer,  mathematician,  and  geographer  who 
lived  in  the  second  century  A.  D.,  is  a  Kavwv 
(iaaiXiuv  (Canon  of  Kings),  a  catalogue  of  Babylonian, 
Persian,  Greek,  and  Roman  kings.  It  is  impossi- 
ble now  to  determine  the  origin  of  this  remarkable 
list.  When  tested  by  the  native  monuments  it 
has  in  every  case  stood  the  test,  and  was  extremely 
valuable  in  the  early  work  of  the  decipherment, 
for  by  its  use  the  order  of  the  kings  was  first 
established.  It  begins  with  Nabonassar  and  ex- 
tends to  Alexander  the  Great.  It  was  plainly 
made  for  astronomical  and  not  for  historical  pur- 
poses, and  therefore  only  contains  the  names  of 
those  kings  who  began  to  reign  with  the  begin- 

'  Hommel,  Semiten,  i,  pp.  329,  ff.  Compare  in  opposition  to  these  attempts 
Tiele,  Oeschichte,  i,  p.  109,  and  Winckler,  Vntersuchimgen  z.  altorientalisclie 
Geschichtc,  3,  ff. 


334     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

ning  of  a  year  and  continued  to  its  end.  Kings 
who  came  to  the  throne  after  the  beginning  of  the 
year  and  reigned  but  a  few  months  are  not  named 
at  all.  For  purposes  of  comparison  the  Canon  of 
Ptolemy,  with  the  Babylonian  names,  may  here  be 
set  down. 

The  Babylonian  Canon  op  Rulers  in  Claudius  Ptolem^us.» 


Length  of 

Greek  Forms 

Babylonian  Forms 

Years 

Reign. 

of  Names. 

of  Names. 

B.C. 

14 

^ajSovaaadgov 

Nabu-nasir 

747 

2 

Nadiov 

(Nabu)-nadin-(zir) 

733 

5 

Xiv^rjpog  km  Jlihgov 

Ukinzir.  Pulu 

731 

5 

'IXovXaiov 

Ululai 

726 

12 

MapSoKeixTrddov 

Marduk-aiial-iddin 

721 

5 

'ApKedvov 

Sharrukin 

709 

2 

dfSaaiXevrov  Trpwrow 
Bi]Uj3ov 

704 

3 

Bel-ibni 

702 

6 

'Anapavadiov 

Ashur-nadin-shura 

699 

1 

'FrjyelSrjXov 

Nergal-ushezib 

693 

4 

MeoTjOiixoQddKov 

Mushezib-Mardiik 

692 

8 

'AfiaaiXevTOV  devregov 
'  Xaapidivov 

688 

13 

Ashur-akh-iddin 

680 

20 

'Laoodovxt-vov 

Shamash-shum-ukin 

667 

22 

KiviXavaSdvov 

Kandalanu 

647 

21 

]^a(3o7ToXa<yadQov 

Nabu-apal-usur 

625 

43 

NajSoKoXaaadpov 

Nab  Li-k  u  d  u  r  ri-  u  s  u  r 

604 

2 

'IXXoapov-ddnov 

Amel-Marduk 

561 

4 

NrjptKaaoXaaodpov 

Nergal-sbar-nsur 

559 

17 

Nafiovadiov 

Nabu-na'id 

555 

This  single  brief  list  far  exceeds  in  value  all  that 
remains  of  Berossos,  and  indeed  all  the  chrono- 
logical material  in  all  the  other  Greek  sources. 

'  For  this  list  see  primarily  Table  Chronologique  des  Regnes  .  .  .  des  C. 
Ptolemee,  etc.,  par  M.  I'Abbe  Halma,  Ouvres  de  Ptolemh,  tom.  iii,  Paris, 
1819,  p.  3,  and  comp.  Georgius  Syncellus,  ed.  Dindoif,  Bonn,  1829,  vol. 
i.,  pp.  390,  ff.,  and  Keil  Bibl.,  ii,  pp.  290,  291.  Winckler,  Keilinschriff- 
licJtes  Textbnch  znm  Alien  Testament,  p.  68. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  335 

C. — Egyptian  Inscriptions. 

From  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  scarcely  anything 
of  value  may  be  obtained  for  chronological  pur- 
poses. The  light  which  the  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian inscriptions  has  brought  to  the  Egyptian 
texts  is  indeed  far  more  useful  than  tlie  converse. 

D. — The  Old  Testament. 

Practically  the  same  statement  is  true  witli  ref- 
erence to  the  Old  Testament,  the  chronological 
materials  of  which  were  first  set  in  their  proper 
light  through  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  discoveries. 

If  now  from  all  these  sources  we  essay  tlie  mak- 
ing of  a  chronological  table  for  Babylonia  and  As- 
syria, it  must  be  admitted  that  with  respect  to  the 
former,  at  least,  the  result  is  not  encouraging. 
Every  effort  to  make  all  the  facts  which  have 
come  down  to  us  dovetail  accurately  together  has 
failed.  These  facts  can  only  be  reconciled  by 
supposing  error  somewhere.  Every  investigator 
differs  from  every  other  as  to  the  place  in  which 
he  finds  the  errors,  yet  each  feels  confident  that 
he  has  found  the  correct  solution.  For  the  pres- 
ent it  seems  unwise  to  attempt  to  draw  up  a  hard 
and  fast  list  of  kings  in  the  early  centuries  b}^ 
means  of  a  system  which  rests  on  the  acceptance 
of  figures  from  some  ancient  documents  and  the 
rejection  of  figures  from  others.  The  only  scientific 
course  would  seem  to  be  to  decline  to  force  these 
figures  into  agreement,  but  simply  to  put  do^\-u 


336      HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

those  which  seem  reasonably  well  attested,  and  to 
indicate  those  places  in  which  they  are  in  conflict 
with  other  figures.  This  we  proceed  to  do,  ac- 
companying the  dates  in  some  cases  with  refer- 
ences to  the  sources  enumerated  above,  and  with 
explanations  of  the  discrepancies.  We  begin  here 
with  the  earliest  known  period. 


Eengi 

En-shag-kush-an-na 

(before  4500  B.  C.) 


TABLES 

Shirpurla 

4500  B.  C. 
Urukagina 

LUGAL-SHUGGtJR 

GURSAR 

I 
GUNIDU 

I 

Ur-Nina 

I 
Akur-gal 


E-ANNA-TUM      EnANKATUMA  I 

I 

Entemena 

I 

Enannatuma  II 
cir.  4100  B.  C 


Erech 


Ukush  (patesi  of  Gishban) 
I 

LUGAL-ZAGGISI 

cir.  4000  B.C. 

I 

LUGAL-KlSALSI 


Fint  Dynasty  of  Ur. 
LuGALKiGUBNiDUDU    cir.  3900  B.  C. 

LUGALKISALSI. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY. 


337 


Agade 

Shargani-shar-ali  cir.  3800  B.  C 
(Sargoa  I) 

I 
Nakam-Sin  cir.  3750  B.  C. 

I 
Bingani-shar-ali 


Second  Dynasty  of  Ur 
cir.  3000  B.  C. 


Urgur 

I 

DUNGI  I 


Third  Dynasty  of  Ur 
DuNGi  II  cir.  2400  B.  C. 

GUNGUNU 

Pur-Sin  II 

Gamil-Sin 
Ine-Sin 


SMrpurln  {Lagash) 

LuGAL-usHUMGAL  cir.  3800  B.C. 
(vassal  of  Sargon  I) 


Ur-Bau   cir.  3200  B.  C. 

I 
Nammaghani 

GuDEA  cir.  3000  B.  C. 

I 
Urnlngirsu 
(vassal  of  Dungi  I) 


Akurgal  II 

LtJKANI 

1 

Ghala-lama 


?  order 


Dynasty  of  Is  in  cir.  2500  B.  C. 

ISHBIGARRA        ] 

LiBiT-IsHTAR    !      order 
PuR-SiN  I         [      unknown 
Ur-Ninib         J 

Ishme-Dagan 

I 
En-an-na-tum 
(vassal  of  Gungunu) 


kingdom  of  Larsa. 

SiN-IDDINAM. 

Nur-Adad. 
Kudur-Nankhundi  (?  about  2285  B.  C). 
Chedorlaomer. 
Kudur-Mabug. 
Eri-Aku  (Arioch). 


338      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


Kingdom  of  Babylon. 
First  Dynasty. 


1.  SuMUABi 2454-2440 

2.  SUMU-LA-ILU 2439-24U5 

3.  Zabu 2404-2391 

4.  Apil-Sin 2390-2373 

5.  Sm-MUBALLiT 2372-2343 

6.  Hammurabi 2342-2288 

7.  Samsu-iluna 2287-2253 

8.  Abeshu'  (Ebishum).,.    2252-2228 

9.  Ammisatana 2227-2203 

10.  Ammisadugga 2202-2182 

11.  Samsusataka 2181-2151 


Length  of  Reigu 

According  to 

King  \aa\j. 

I'ears. 
15 
35 
14 
18 
30 
55 
35 
25 
25 
21 
31 


The  order  of  these  names  is  taken  from  Baby- 
lonian King  Lists  A  and  B.  The  years  of  reign 
are  those  given  in  the  King  List.  It  is  possible 
that  some  of  the  differences  between  these  and 
the  numbers  given  in  Chronological  Tablet  C 
may  be  explained  on  the  basis  suggested  by 
Sayce  {Proceedings  Soc.Bih.Archceology^  xxi,p.l8), 
that  in  A  and  B  allowance  is  made  for  rival  princes 
who  were  deemed  illegitimate  and  hence  not  men- 
tioned by  name,  while  in  C  we  have  naturally  only 
the  names  and  the  years  of  legitimate  rulers.  For 
confirmation  of  this  theory  we  shall  have  to  await 
the  discovery  of  new  material. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  339 

Second  Dynast i/. 

Length  of  Relsrn. 

1.  Ax-:ma-ax 2150-2091  (60) 

2.  Kl-AN-xi-iu 2090-2085  (5G) 

3.  Dam-ki-ilu-shi- 2034-2009  (2G) 

4.  IsH-Kl-BAL 2008-1994  (15) 

5.  Shu-ush-shi 1993-1970  (24) 

6.  GuL-Ki-SHAR 1969-1915  (55) 

7.  KiR-GAL-DARA-BAK.  .  .     1914-1865  (50) 

8.  A-DARA-KALAMA 1864-1837  (28) 

9.  A-KUR-UL-AX-NA 1836-1811        (26) 

10.  Melam-kur-kur-ka.  1810-1803        (8) 

11.  Ea-ga-mil 1802-1783        (20) 

These  names  with  the  numerals  attached  are  found 
in  Lists  A  and  B.  The  length  of  several  of  the  reigns 
seem  exceedingly  high,  and  there  is  reason  to  doubt 
whether  they  are  correct.  It  is  also  impossible  to  rec- 
oncile the  total  period  of  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  with  the  facts  learned  from  other  sources, 
respecting  the  period  which  has  elapsed  between 
certain  kings  of  dynasty  I  and  dynasty  II ;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, between  Hammurabi  and  Burnaburiash  (see 
above,  I,  9,  p.  316).  Many  efforts  have  been  made  to 
relieve  these  difficulties.  Hommel  at  one  time  at- 
tempted to  prove  that  this  second  dynasty  really  pre- 
ceded dynasty  I;'  he  then  later  took  the  view  that 
the  second  dynasty  and  the  first  Avere  contemporane- 
ous,' and  that  the  second  dynasty,  so  called,  was 

'  Geschichte,  i,  p.  169. 

-Hommel,  Tlie  Ancient  Hebrew  Tradition  us  Illustrated  h\j  the  Mon'i. 
mrnts,  London,  1897,  pp.  12.5,  ff. 


340     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

really  "  entirely  apocryphal."  *  He  has  since  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  "  the  first  six  and  possibly, 
also,  the  last  king  (Ea-gamil,  twenty  years)  should 
be  retained,  and  the  seventh  to  the  tenth  wholly 
rejected."*  It  does  not  appear  that  there  is  any 
good  reason  for  rejecting  all  or  any  part  of  these 
names  as  apocryphal,  but  the  figures  which  are 
attached  to  them  may  easily  be  wrong  in  whole  or 
in  part,  just  as  the  discovery  of  List  C  has  shown 
that  there  are  errors  or,  at  least,  irregularities  in 
the  Lists  A  and  B  respecting  dynasty  I.  For  the 
present  the  only  safe  position  is  one  of  doubt  and 
uncertainty. 

AVe  may  now  turn  with  rather  more  confidence 
to  the  next  dynasty.  In  it  we  come,  for  the  first 
time,  to  a  period  in  which  native  documents  have 
preserved  for  us  fractions  of  years.  For  this  and 
other  reasons  the  chances  of  error  are  reduced  and 
a  higher  degree  of  probability  in  the  result  may  be 

expected. 

Third  Dynasty.     Kassites. 

Length  of 
Reign. 

1.  Gandish cir.  1782-1767  B.  C.        16 

2.  Agum-shi 1766-1745  22 

3.  BiBEiASHi 1744-1723  22 

4.  DusHi 1 722-1714  9  (?19) 

5.  Adumetash 1713- 

6.  Tashzigurmash. 

7.  Agum-kakbime. 

[Perhaps  about  six  unknown  kings.] 

'  Op.  clt.,  p.  126. 

«  Hommel,  "  The  True  Date  of  Abraham  and  Moses,"  The  Expository 
rimtH,  X,  p.  211  (February,  1809). 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  341 

Kaeaindash,  cir.   1450, 

Kadashmax-Bel  [formerly  called  Kalimma-Sin].  cir. 

1430. 
BuRNABURiASH  I,  cir.  1420. 
KuEiGALZu  I,  cir.  1410. 

BuRXABUKiASH  II  [sou  of  Kurigalzu],  cir.  1400. 
Karakhardash,  cir.  1370. 
Kadasiiman  Kharbe  I. 

[Shuzigash  or  Nazibugash,   Usurper],  cir.  1360. 
Kurigalzu  II,  sou  Kadashman-Kharbe  I,  cir.  1350. 
Nazimaruttash,  sou  of  Kurigalzu  II,  cir.  1340. 
Kadashman-Turgu,  son  of  Nazimaruttash. 
Kadashmax-Buriash. 

Length  of 
Reign. 

26.  Kudur-Bel about  1304-1299  6 

27.  Shagarakti-Shuriash     cir.   1298-1286  13 

[800  years  before  Nabonidus.] 

28.  Bibeiashu   cir.   1285-1278  8 

29.  Bel-shum  iDDiN  )    .     ,^^^  ,^^^  1  year  6  mos. 

V  cir.  1277—1275 

30.  Kadashman-Kharbe  II  |      '  ~      1  year  6  mos. 

31.  ADAD-SHUM-iDDiisr cir.   1274-1269  6 

32.  Adad-shum-usur cir.   1268-1239  (30) 

33.  Melishipak cir.   1238-1224  15 

34.  Marduk-apal-iddin cir.  1223-1211  13 

35.  Zamamu-suum-iddin  . .  ..cir.   1210  1 

36.  Bel-shum-iddin cir.   1209-1207  3 

The  names  in  this  list  still  offer  many  difficul- 
ties to  the  historian  and  chronologist.  The  names 
from  No.  1  to  No.  6  are  drawn  from  the  Baby. 
Ionian  King  List  A,  as  are  also  the  years  of 
reign  assigned  to  the  first  four.  The  provisional 
date  for  Gandish  (1782  B.C.)  is  also  assigned  on 
the  basis  of  the  same  list,  which  assigns  five  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  years  and  nine  months  as  the 


342     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

length  of  this  dynasty.  If  now  the  date  of  the 
end  of  the  dynasty  be  set  at  1207  B.  C,  on  a  reck- 
oning of  the  following  dynasty  (see  below),  and 
this  year  1207  be  the  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
sixth  year,  it  follows  that  the  dynasty  must  have 
begun  in  1782  (1207  +  575  =  1782).  The  dates  of 
the  first  four  kings  of  the  dynasty  are  computed 
on  the  basis  of  the  length  of  their  reigns  given  in 
the  same  list. 

The  kings  from  No.  26  to  86  are  also  put  down 
as  they  are  found  in  the  same  list,  together  with 
the  years  of  reign  computed  in  the  same  manner. 

The  arrangement  of  the  kings  from  No.  7  to 
No.  25,  inclusive,  is  in  several  cases  extremely 
doubtful.  They  rest  largely  upon  inscriptions  be- 
longing to  several  of  the  kings  found  chiefly  at 
Nippur,  and  the  reasons  for  the  order  here  adopted 
are  given  for  the  most  part  in  the  history  proper 
which  follows,  and  usually  in  the  footnotes  or  in 
the  references  contained  in  them.  At  the  best 
the  order,  and  in  some  instances  the  names  them- 
selves, must  remain  doubtful  until  cleared  up  by 
monumental  evidence. 

Fourth  Dynasty.     Dynasty  of  Isin. 

1.  Marduk  (?) cir.  1206-1189  B.  C.    (18) 

2 -|   cir.  1188-1183  B.  C.    (6) 

3 I 

.  r  Four  unknown  kings, 

5 J 

6.  Nebuchadrezzar  I,  cir.  1135  B.  C. 

7.  Bel-nadin-apli,  cir.  1125  B.  C. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  343 

8.  Mabduk-nadin-akhe,  cir.  1117-1096  B.  C.    (22) 

9.  [Marduk-akhe-irba  ?]  1095.     (1  year  6  mos.) 

10.  Marduk-shapik-zer-mati  1094-1083,     (12) 
[Adad-apal-iddin,  usurper,    not  mentioned  in    King 

List.] 

11.  Nabu-shum  (or-nadin),  cir.  1082-10V5     (8) 

For  the  arrangement  of  the  fourth  dynasty  our 
materials  are  exceedingly  scanty.  The  King  List  A 
is  badly  broken  and  but  little  can  be  made  out  of 
it.  The  first  name  is  almost  entirely  destroyed, 
but  the  number  of  years  is  certainly  fixed  at  18. 
The  numeral  6  attached  to  the  second  king  ap- 
pears also  to  be  certain.  From  a  monument  of  his 
own  Nebuchadrezzar  I  is  known,  and  Bel-nadin- 
apli  from  a  boundary  stone.  Marduk-nadin-akhe 
is  known  from  Assyrian  synchronisms,  and  the 
years  of  reign,  22,  appear  upon  the  King  List  A. 
The  location  of  Marduk-akhe-irba  is  exceedingly 
doubtful,  but  the  numeral  1  year  and  6  months 
is  on  the  King  List,  as  are  also  the  numerals  12 
and  8  which  follow.  The  reasons  for  the  location 
of  the  remaining  kings  are  given  below  in  the  his- 
tory. 

The  length  of  this  dynasty  has  usually  been 
given,  on  the  basis  of  the  King  List,  as  72  years 
and  6  months,  but  by  a  simple  calculation  Peiser 
proved  that  this  was  impossible,  and  suggested 
that  it  must  be  132  years.'  After  an  examination 
of  the  passage  he  became  convinced  that  it  must  be 
132,  and  with  this  Knudtzon"  agrees,  as  does  also 

'  ZA  vi,  268,  ff. 

'^Knudtzon,  Assyrlsche  Oebete,  i,  p.  60;  ii,  p.  277. 


SU     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Lehmann,  tliougli  tlie  latter  thinks  that  133  is  possi- 
ble.' The  date  of  Marduk-nadin-akhe  is  made  clear 
by  the  allusion  of  Sennacherib  (see  above,  1, 13,  p. 
320),  and  from  that  date  it  is  possible  to  reckon 
downward  to  the  end  of  the  dynasty  at  1075  and 
forward  to  its  beginning  (1075  +  131=1206  B.  C), 
though  the  latter  figure  is  to  be  regarded  only  as 
tentative. 

Fifth  Dynasty.     Dynasty  of  the  Sea  Lands. 

Length  ot  Reign. 

1.  SiBARSHiPAK  cir.  1074-1057  (18) 

2.  Ea-mukin-zer  cir.  1057  (5  mos.) 

3.  Kasshu-nadix-akhe  cir.  1056-1054  (3) 

Both  names  and  length  of  reign  are  taken  from  King- 
List  A. 

Sixth  Dynasty.     Dynasty  of  Bazi. 

1.  EULBAR-SHAKIN-SHUM  1053-1037  (17) 

2.  NiNiB-KUDUR-usuR  1036-1034         (3) 

3.  SiLANIM-SHUKAMUNA  1033  (3  mOS.) 

Both  names  and  length  of  reign  are  taken  from  King 
List  A. 

Seventh  Dynasty.     The  Dynasty  of  Elam. 
1.  An  Elamite  [name  unknown]        1032-1027         (6) 

The  length  of  reign  is  given  in  King  List  A, 
but  the  name  is  broken  off,  and  has  not  yet  been 
r(^covered  from  any  other  source. 

From  this  point  onward  there  is  a  considerable 
gap  in  our  knowledge  of  the  Babylonian  kings, 
and  even  the  length  of  the  gap  cannot  be  definitely 
ascertained. 

'  Lehmann,  Zwei  Hauptprobl,  pp.  14,  15. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  345 

Eighth  Dynasti/.     Tlie  Dynasty  of  Babylon. 

Nabu-kin-abli  1026-901  (36) 

Unknown  King  990  8  mos.  and  10  days 

Several  unJcnoion  kings,  2yossibly  four  or  even  six. 
Shamash-mudammik  cir.  910 

Nabu-shum-ishkun  cir.  900 

Nabu-apal-iddin  cir,  880  [at  least  31  years] 

Marduk-nadin-shum 
Maeduk-balatsu-ikbi        cir.  812 
Bau-akh-iddin  cir.  800 


)    Probably  two 
]  missing  names 


Nabu-shum-ishkun 

Nabu-nasir  747-734 

Nabu-nadin-zkr  733-732  (2) 

Nabu-shum-ukin  731  (1  mo.  and  12  days) 

Our  knowledge  of  tlie  chronological  order  of 
the  kings  of  this  dynasty  is  exceedingly  slight. 
The  Babylonian  King  List  A  gives  the  length  of 
reigns  in  a  few  instances,  and  these  are  set  down. 
The  position  of  the  kings  from  Shamash-mudam- 
mik to  Bau-akh-iddin  is  determined  by  the  Assyr- 
ian synchronisms  (see  history).  When  Nabu-nasir 
is  reached  we  come  to  the  exact  chronological  ma- 
terial of  the  Ptolemaic  Canon,  which  gives  us  the 
definite  dates  747  and  733. 

Ninth  Dynasty. 
Ukin-zer,  731-730.  \  ^  „  p    . 

PULU  (=  TiGLATH-PILESER  III,  of  As-  h        „  ^ 

•  \    >,^«  Hr.^r  \      five  years. 

Syria),  729-727.  ;  ^ 

Ululai  (=  Shalmaneser  IV,  of  Assyria),  727-722     (5) 

Marduk-apal-iddix    (Merodach-baladan),    721-709     (12) 

24 


346     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Sharrukin,  709-705.     (5.) 
tSiN-AKH-ERBA  (Seiiiiacherib),  705-703. 
Marduk-zakir-shum,  703. 

Marduk-apal-iddin  (Merodach-baladau),  703-702. 
Bel-ibni,  702-700.     (3.) 
ashur-nadin-shum,  699-694.     (0.) 
Nergal-ushezib,  693.     (1.) 
Mushezib-Marduk,  693-690.     (4.) 
ISin-akh-erba  (Sennacherib),  689-682. 
AssHUR-AKH-iDDiN  (Esarliaclclon),  681-668. 
Shamash-shum-ukix,  667-647. 
Kandalanu  (=  Ashur-ban-apal),  647-626. 
Nabu-apal-usur  (Nabopolassar),  625-605. 
Nabu-kudurri-usur  (Nebuchadrezzar),  604-562. 
Amel-Marduk  (Evil-Merodach),  561-560. 
Nergal-shar-usur,  559-556. 
Labashi-Marduk,  556. 
Nabu-na'id  (Nabonidus),  555-539. 

For  this  period  the  chi'onological  material  is 
abundant  and  extraordinarily  accurate.  The  dates 
may  be  regarded  as  fixed  with  as  much  definite- 
ness  as  may  be  expected  in  the  history  of  tlie 
ancient  Orient. 

The  Chronology  of  Assyria, 

Ishakkus  of  Asshur. 

Ishme-Dagan,  cir.  1830. 
Shamshi-Adad  I,  cir.  1810. 
Igui'-kapkapu, 
Shamshi-Adad  II, 
Khallu,  (?) 
Irishum,  (?) 


THE  CHRONOLOGY.  347 

Kings  of  Assyria. 
Bel-kapkapu,  cir.  1700  B.  C 

AssHUR-BEL-xisHEsnu,  cir.  1450  B.  C. 
PuzuR-AsHUR,  cir.  1420. 

ASSHUR-NADIN-AKHE,  cil*.   1380  B.  0. 

AssHUR-UBALLiT,  cir.  1370. 

Bel-nirari,  his  son,  cir.  1350. 

PuDi-iLu,  his  son. 

Adad-nirari  I,  his  son,  cir.  1345. 

Shulmanu-asharid  I,hisson  (Shalmaneser  1),  cir.  1330. 

TuKULTi-NiNiB,  his  son,  cir.  1290. 

Asshur-nazir-pal  I,  cir.  1280. 

asshur-naraea. 

Nabu-daian. 

Bel-kudur-usur,  cir.  1240. 

NiNIB-APAL-ESHARRA,  cir.    1235  B.   C. 

AssHUR-DAisr,  cir.  1210. 
MuTAKKiL-NusKu,  cir.  1150. 
AssHUR-RisH-isHi,  cir.  1140. 

TUKULTI-APAL-ESHARRA  (TiGLATHPILESER   I),  cir.   1120. 
ASSHUR-BEL-KALA,  cir.   1090. 

Shamshi-Adad  I,  cir.  1080. 
AssHUR-XAZiR-PAL  IT,  cir.   1050. 
Erba-Adad. 

AsSHUR-NADIN-AKHE. 

ASSHUR-ERBI, 

TUKULTI-APAL-ESHARRA  (TiGLATHPILESER  II),  cir.   950. 

AssHUR-DAN  II,  his  son,  cir.  930. 
Adad-nirari  II,  his  son,  911-891. 
TuKULTi-NiNiB  II,  his  son,  890-885. 
AssHUR-NAZiR-PAL  III,  his  son,  884-860. 
Shulmanu-asharid  (Shalmaneser  II),  859-825. 
Shamshi-Adad  II,  824-812. 
Adad-nirari  III,  811-783. 


348     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Shulmanu-ashaeid  (Shalmaneser  III),  782-773. 

ASSHUR-DAN  III,  772-755. 

ASSHUR-NIRARI  II,  754-745. 

TUKULTI-APAL-ESHARRA    (TiGLATHPILESKR    III  =  PULU), 

745-727. 

Shulmanu-asharid  (Shalmaneser  IV),  726-722. 
Sharrukin  (Sargon),  721-705. 

SiN-AKH-ERBA  (SeNNACHERIb),  704-681. 
ASSHUR-AKH-IDDIN  (EsARHADDOn),  680-668. 
ASSHUR-BAN-APAL,  668-626. 
ASSHUR-ETIL-ILANI,  625-622  (?). 

SiN-sHUM-LisHiR  (?  date). 

SiN-SHAR-ISHKUN,  62l(?)-607. 


BOOK   II: 
THE   HISTORY  OF    BABYLONIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  HISTOKY  OF  BABYLONIA  TO  THE  FALL  OF  LARSA. 

The  study  of  the  origins  of  states  is  fraught 
with  no  less  difficulty  than  the  investigation  of  the 
origins  of  animate  nature.  The  great  wall  before 
every  investigator  of  the  beginnings  of  things, 
with  its  inscription,  "Thus  far  shalt  thou  come 
and  no  farther,"  stands  also  before  the  student  of 
the  origins  of  the  various  early  kingdoms  of  Bab- 
ylonia. It  may  always  be  impossible  to  achieve 
any  picture  of  the  beginnings  of  civilization  in 
Babylonia  which  will  satisfy  the  desire  for  a  clear 
and  vivid  portrayal.  Whatever  may  be  achieved 
by  future  investigators  it  is  now  impossible  to  do 
more  than  give  outlines  of  events  in  the  dim  past 
of  early  Babylonia. 

If  we  call  up  before  us  the  land  of  Babylonia, 
and  transport  ourselves  backward  until  we  reach 
the  period  of  more  than  four  thousand  five  hun. 
dred  years  before  Christ,  we  shall  be  able  to  dis- 
cern here    and    there   signs  of   life,  society,  and 

349 


35U     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

government  in  certain  cities.  Civilization  has  al- 
ready reached  a  high  point,  the  arts  of  life  are  well 
advanced,  and  men  are  able  to  write  down  their 
thoughts  and  deeds  in  intelligible  language  and  in 
permanent  form.  All  these  presuppose  a  long 
period  of  development  running  back  through  mil- 
lenniums of  unrecorded  time.  At  this  period  there 
are  no  great  kingdoms,  comprising  many  cities, 
with  their  laws  and  customs,  with  subject  territory 
and  tribute-paying  states.  Over  the  entire  land 
there  are  only  visible,  as  we  look  back  upon  it,  cities 
dissevered  in  government,  and  perhaps  in  inter- 
course, but  yet  the  promise  of  kingdoms  still  un- 
born. In  Babylonia  we  know  of  the  existence  of 
the  cities  Agade,  Babylon,  Kutha,  Kish,  Gishbau, 
Shirpurla  (afterward  called  Lagash),  Guti,  and  yet 
others  less  famous.  In  each  of  these  cities  worship 
is  paid  to  some  local  god  who  is  considered  by  his 
faithful  followers  to  be  a  Baal  or  Lord,  the  strong- 
est god,  whose  right  it  is  to  demand  worship,  also, 
from  dwellers  in  other  cities.'  This  belief  be- 
comes an  impulse  by  which  the  inhabitants  of  a 
city  are  driven  out  to  conquer  other  cities  and  so 
extend  the  dominion  of  their  god.  If  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Babylon  could  conquer  the  peoj)le  of  Ku- 
tha, was  it  not  proof  that  the  stronger  god  ■^^'as 
behind  their  armies,  and  should  not  other  peoples 
also  worship  him  ?  But  there  were  other  motives 
for  conquest.  There  was  the  crying  need  for 
bread — the  most  pressing  need  of  all  the  ages.     It 

'  Wiuckler,  Untersuchungen,  Leipzig,  1889,  p.  Go. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARS  A.  351 

was  natural  that  they  who  had  the  poorer  parts 
of  the  country  should  seek  to  acquire  the  better 
portions  either  to  dwell  in  or  to  exact  tribute 
from.  The  desire  for  power,  a  thoroughly  human 
impulse,  was  also  joined  to  the  other  two  influ- 
ences at  a  very  early  date.  Tlie  ruler  in  Babylon 
must  needs  conquer  his  nearest  neighbor  that  he 
may  get  himself  power  over  men  and  a  name 
among  them.  Impelled  by  religion,  by  hunger, 
and  by  ambition,  the  peoples  of  Babylonia,  who 
have  dwelt  apart  in  separate  cities,  begin  to  add 
city  to  city,  concentrating  power  in  the  hands  of 
kings.  Herein  lies  the  origin  of  the  great  empire 
which  must  later  dominate  the  whole  earth,  for 
these  little  kingdoms  thus  formed  later  unite  un- 
der the  headship  of  one  kingdom  and  the  empire 
is  founded. 

At  the  very  earliest  period  whose  written  records 
have  come  down  to  us  the  name  of  Babylonia  was 
Kengi — that  is,  "  land  of  canals  and  reeds."  '  Even 
then  the  waters  of  the  river  w^ere  conveyed  to  the 
fields  and  the  cities  in  artificially  constructed  ca- 
nals, while  the  most  characteristic  form  of  vegetable 
life  was  the  reed,  growing  in  masses  along  the  water 
courses.  More  than  four  thousand  five  hundred 
years  before  Christ  there  lived  in  this  land  of 
Kengi  a  man  who  Avrites  his  name  En-shag-kusli- 
ana,''  who  calls  himself  lord  of  Kengi.     AVe  know 

'  Hilprecht,  Old  Babylonian  Inscriptions,  i,  part  ii,  p.  4*7,  and  p.  38,  foot- 
note 9. 

^  The  inscriptions  of  this  king  are  publislied  by  Hilprecht,  oj>.  cit.,  Nos. 
90-92.     See  further  Ililpreclit's  notes  on  p.  51. 


352     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

very  little  indeed  of  him,  but  it  seems  probable 
that  his  small  dominion  contained  several  cities,  of 
which  Erech  was  probably  the  capital,  and  Nippur 
was  certainly  its  chief  religious  center.  Even  at 
this  early  time  there  was  a  temple  at  Nippur 
dedicated  to  the  great  god  En-lil,  over  which 
there  was  set  a  chief  servant  of  the  god,  who  con- 
trolled the  temple  worship,  protected  its  sanctity 
if  necessary,  and  was  accounted  its  ruler.  The 
title  of  this  ruler  of  the  temple,  this  chief  priest, 
wcLspatesh  Naturally  enough  the  man  who  held 
such  an  important  religious  post  often  gained 
political  power.  If  the  god  whom  he  represented 
was  a  god  whose  power  had  been  shown  in  the 
prosperity  of  his  worshipers  in  war  or  in  trade, 
it  was  natural  enough  that  neighboring  cities 
should  come  under  his  glorious  protection,  and  that 
his  patesi  should  stand  in  the  relation  of  governor 
to  them.  Now  En-shag-kush-ana  was  the  patesi  of 
En-lil,  and  the  honor  of  that  god  was  in  his  keep- 
ing. AVe  do  not  know  of  what  race  he  was.  He  may 
have  been  Sumerian,  he  may  have  been  a  Semite, 
or  he  may  have  been  of  mixed  race,  for  that  mix. 
ture  of  blood  had  already  begun  is  shown  clearly 
enough  by  contemporary  monuments.  But  what- 
ever his  own  blood  was  his  people  were  Sumerians 
and  the  civilization  over  which  he  ruled  was  likewise 

'  There  has  been  a  long  dispute  over  the  meaning  of  the  word.  See  es- 
pecially Winckler,  Altorientalische  Forschungen,  vol.  i,  part  iii,  pp.  232,  ff.; 
Hilprecht,  op.  cit,  p.  49,  and  especially  footnote  1 ;  Rost,  Ifjitersuchungen, 
p.  31,  footnote  3  ;  Jensen,  Zeilschrift  d.  Deut.  morgenl.  Gesellschafty 
xxxxviii,  254,  ff.     The  view  set  forth  above  owes  much  to  Hilprecht. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.  353 

Sumerian.  But  even  at  this  early  time  the  Sume- 
rian  vitality  was  dying  out, and  the  day  was  threaten- 
ing when  a  new  and  more  virile  people  would  drive 
the  Sumerians  out  of  their  heritage  and  possess  it  in 
their  room.  Some  individuals  of  this  race  were 
already  settled  in  the  Sumerian  territory  in  the  south, 
and  others  of  them  already  possessed  the  great  north- 
ern domain,  which  once  had  belonged  to  the  Sume- 
lians.  Out  of  this  period  to  which  En-shag-kush-ana 
belongs  we  hear  several  echoes  of  the  conflict  that 
was  already  begun  for  the  possession  of  all  Baby- 
lonia. To  about  this  period  there  belongs  a  little 
broken  inscription  written  by  another  lord  of  Kengi, 
who  has  been  trying  to  reconquer  part  of  northern 
Babylonia  which  was  already  in  the  possession  of 
these  new  invaders.  These  invaders  were  Semites, 
whose  original  home  was  probably  Arabia,  but  who 
were  now  for  some  time  settled  northwest  of  Baby- 
lonia and  probably  in  Mesopotamia.  They  coveted 
the  rich  alluvial  soil  on  which  the  Babylonians 
were  living  as  well  as  the  fine  cities  which  already 
dotted  it  here  and  there.  The  Sumerians  had  prob- 
ably once  possessed  this  very  land  in  which  they 
were  now  dwelling,  but  had  been  driven  from  it 
by  their  resistless  advance.  It  seems  probable 
that  the  city  of  Gishban  was  one  of  their  earliest 
possessions,  and  that  to  it  they  later  added  Kish, 
which  became  the  chief  city  of  their  growing 
kingdom.  While  En-shag-kush-ana  was  lord  over 
the  Sumerian  kingdom  in  the  south  the  kingdom 
of  Kish  was  threatening  to  overwhelm  the  whole 


354     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA   AND  ASSYRIA. 

of  Babylonia.  It  was  a  successor  of  his,  or  per- 
haps a  predecessor,  who  attacked  Enne-Uguu,  the 
king  of  Kish.  Victory  came  to  the  Sumeriaus,  and 
the  king,  whose  name  is  yet  unknown,  came  home, 
bearing  with  liim  the  spoil  of  the  conquered  Sem- 
ite— "  his  statue,  his  shining  silver,  the  utensils,  his 
property  "  ' — and  set  them  up  as  an  offering  in  the 
sanctuary  of  the  great  god  En-lil,  who  had  given 
him  the  victoiy.  Well  might  the  king  of  Kengi 
boast  of  a  victory  which  must  for  a  time  at  least 
stay  the  progress  of  the  invading  Semite. 

It  was,  however,  only  a  temporary  reverse  for 
this  people.  The  Semites  had  the  fresh  power  of 
a  new  race,  and  soon  produced  a  leader  able  to 
strike  the  one  blow  needed  to  destroy  forever 
the  Sumerian  commonwealth.  There  was  a  patesi 
of  Gishban,  called  Ukush,  and  it  was  his  son 
Lugalzaggisi  who,  when  he  had  come  to  the  rule 
over  Kish  and  Gishban,  went  down  into  southern 
Babylonia  and  overwhelmed  it.  It  was  probably 
easily  accomplished,  for  the  work  of  the  Sumerians 
was  done.  Yet  theirs  had  been  a  noble  career,  and 
the  people  who  had  invented  a  system  of  \\Titiug 
that  served  their  conquerors  for  thousands  of  years 
were  a  people  who  had  left  a  deep  impress  on  the 
world's  history.  About  4000  B.  C.  Lugalzaggisi 
made  Erech  the  capital  of  the  now  united  Baby- 
lonia, and  Nippur  readily  became  the  chief  center 
of  its  religious  life.  The  language  of  the  Sumeri- 
ans was  used  by  their  conqueror  in  which  to  cele- 

'  Hilprecht,  Old  Bab.  Ins.,  vol.  i,  part  ii,  p.  50. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.  355 

brate  his  conquest,  and  to  their  gods  did  lie  give 
thanks  for  his  victories.  It  was  they  who  had 
called  him  to  the  rule  over  Keugi  and  appointed 
unto  him  a  still  greater  dominion.  His  words 
glow  with  feeling  as  he  says :  "  When  En-lil,  lord 
of  the  lands,  invested  Lugalzaggisi  with  the  king- 
dom of  the  world,  and  granted  him  success  befoi-e 
the  world,  when  he  filled  the  land  with  his  power, 
(and)  subdued  the  country  from  the  rise  of  the 
sun  to  the  setting  of  the  sun — at  that  time  he 
straightened  his  path  from  the  lower  sea  of  the 
Tigris  and  Eu2:)hrates  to  the  upper  sea,  and  granted 
him  the  dominion  of  everything  (?)  f I'om  the  rising 
of  the  sun  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  caused 
the  countries  to  dwell  in  peace." '  Lugalzaggisi 
made  a  small  empire  at  one  stroke,  and  his  boast- 
ful inscription  begins  with  a  long  list  of  titles : 
"  Lugalzaggisi,  king  of  Erech,  king  of  the  world, 
priest  of  Ana,  hei'o  of  Nidaba,  son  of  Ukush, 
patesi  of  Gishban,  hero  of  Nidaba,  he  \vho  was 
favorably  looked  upon  by  the  faithful  eye  of  Lu- 
galkurkura  (that  is,  En-lil),  great  j)atesi  of  En-lil." ' 
The  power  of  his  name  extended  even  to  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  though,  of  course,  he 
did  not  attempt  to  rule  over  so  vast  a  territory. 

Lugalzaggisi  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by 
his  son,  Lugal-kisalsi,"  and  it  appeared  for  a  time 
as  though  the  Sumeriau  kingdom  was  blotted  out 

'  Hieprecht  ,  Old  Bab.  Ins.,  i,  part  ii,  p.  53 

2  Ibid.,  p.  52. 

^Jbul,  plate  42,  text  Xo.  89. 


356     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

forever,  and  that  no  more  than  peaceful  absorption 
into  the  Semitic  life  could  await  it.  But  a  king- 
dom slowly  built  up  during  the  ages  often  makes 
more  than  one  effort  to  retain  its  life,  and  this  was 
to  be  the  case  with  the  Sumerian  kingdom. 

Perhaps  while  Lugal-kisalsi  was  still  alive  a 
reaction  began.  The  nucleus  for  it  was  found  in 
an  ancient  kingdom,  the  kingdom  of  Shirpurla, 
whose  chief  city  was  Sungir,*  in  southern  Baby- 
lonia. Who  had  laid  the  foundations  of  either 
city  or  kingdom  is  unknown  to  us.  AVe  come 
upon  them  both  in  full  power  and  dignity,  about 
4500  B.  C.  Urukagiua  then  is  king  of  Shirpurla, 
and  he  is  engaged  in  the  building  and  restoration 
of  temples  and  the  construction  of  a  canal  to  sup- 
ply his  city  with  water."  But  it  is  only  a  glimpse 
that  we  catch  of  his  operations  in  the  far  dis- 
tant past,  and  then  he  disappears  and  for  some 
time,  perhaps  a  generation  or  more,  we  hear  noth- 
ing of  his  city  or  kingdom.  Then  there  appears 
a  new  king  in  Sungir,  Ur-Nina.  Like  Urukagiua, 
he  also  was  a  builder  of  temples,  for  which  he 
brought  timber  all  the  way  from  Magan — the 
Sinaitic  peninsula.  There  is  no  mention  in  any 
of  his  little  inscriptions  of  war,  and  in  his  time 


'  Sungir  (formerly  read  Gir-su)  later  becomes  Sumer  and  gives  its  name 
to  the  whole  of  southern  Babylonia.  It  appears  in  Hebrew  in  the  form 
Shinar  (^y;T23))  G^^-  ^i- 

'  See  translations  of  the  inscriptions  of  Urukagina  by  Amiaud,  Records  of 
the  Past,  new  series,  i,  pp.  68,  flf.,  and  Jensen,  Keilinschrift.  Bib.,  iii,  part 
i,  p.  10. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.  357 

uninterrupted  peace  seems  to  have  prevailed.' 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Akurgal,  none  of 
whose  inscriptions  have  come  down  to  us.  After 
him  came  his  son,  Eannatum,"  who  felt  sorely  the 
increasing  pressure  of  the  Semitic  hordes,  and 
determined  to  strike  a  blow  against  Gishban  and 
its  domination  of  Babylonia.  The  Sumerians  won, 
and  the  bloody  battle  remained  long  famous  in 
the  annals  of  a  dying  people.  Upon  his  return, 
covered  with  honor,  Eannatum  set  up  in  the  temple 
of  his  god  Nin-Sungir  a  splendid  stele'  in  com- 
memoration of  his  victory.  Upon  one  of  its  white 
limestone  faces  stand  two  goddesses,  before  whom 
lies  a  great  heap  of  weapons  and  of  booty  taken 
from  the  Semites.  Above  them  is  the  totem,  or 
coat  of  arms  of  the  city — a  double-headed  eagle 
above  two  demi-lions  placed  back  to  back.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  stele  is  Eannatum  standins^ 
upright  in  his  war  chariot,  with  a  great  spear  in 

'  The  inscriptions  of  Ur-Nina  are  published  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouveries 
en  C'haldee,  pi.  1,  No.  2;  pi.  2,  Nos.  1,  2;  pi.  31.  They  are  well  translated 
by  Amiaud  {Records  of  the  Fast,  new  series,  vol.  i,  pp.  64-66)  and  by  Jen- 
sen, Keilinschrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  part  i,  pp.  11-15. 

"^  The  name  was  originally  read  Edingiranagin.  See  now  Hilprecht,  Old 
Bab.  Jus.,  vol.  i,  part  ii,  p.  42,  note  1,  and  Zeitschri/t  fur  Assyriologie,  xi, 
p.  330,  note  2.     Thureau-Dangin,  Revue  d'' Assyriologie,  iv,  70,  note  6. 

^  This  is  the  well-known  stele  of  the  Vultures,  now  in  the  Louvre.  Most 
of  our  knowledge  of  it  is  due  to  Heuzey,  who  has  given  much  time  to  its 
study.  It  has  been  the  subject  of  some  controversy,  but  Heuzey  has  been 
for  the  most  part  vindicated.  See  Heuzey,  Etudes  d' Archceologie  Orientale, 
i,  pp.  49-82,  and  ComptesRendus  de  P Acadhnie  des  Inscriptions,  1892,  vol. 
XX,  pp.  262-274,  and  Decoiivertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  3,  4.  The  whole  monu- 
ment is  well  described  by  Maspero,  Dawn  of  Civilization,  pp.  606,  ff., 
and  by  Hilprecht,  Recent  Research  in  Bible  Lands  (Philadelphia,  1897), 
pp.  76,  ff. 


358     HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

his  hand,  followed  by  his  troops  and  charging 
upon  the  enemy.  The  plain  is  covered  with  the 
bodies  of  his  enemies,  and  vultures  fight  with  each 
other  and  devour  the  mangled  heads,  legs,  and 
arms  of  the  defeated  enemy.  Rude  though  it  un- 
doubtedly is,  yet  the  execution  bears  witness  to 
high  civilization,  for  such  execution  could  only  be 
the  result  of  long  practice  in  the  plastic  art.  By 
this  one  stroke  Eannatum  had  freed  Ur  and  Uruk 
from  the  Semitic  invader  and  had  imparted  a 
fresh  lease  of  life  to  the  almost  expiring  Sumerian 
commonwealth.  The  new  energy  of  victory  was 
shown  at  once.  Elam  was  invaded  and  Sumerian 
supremacy  almost  entirely  reestablished  over  the 
whole  of  Babylonia  and  its  tributary  lands.  The 
simple  records  of  his  deeds  makes  Eannatum  one 
of  the  greatest  conquerors  of  the  far  distant  past. 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  En-anna-tuma  I, 
and  he  by  his  son,  Entemena,  who  has  left  us  a 
beautiful  silver  vase  with  a  brief  inscription  as 
well  as  fragments  of  vases  which  he  presented  to 
the  great  god  En-lil  at  Nippur.  After  him  came 
his  son,  En-anna-tuma  II,  who  remains  up  to  this 
time  but  a  shadowy  personality  before  us.  With 
him  we  lose  sight  of  the  little  kingdom  of  Shirpurla 
for  a  considerable  period,  and  all  our  interest  is 
transferred  again  to  Semitic  kingdoms  in  the  north. 
At  about  3800  B.  C.  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  an- 
other conqueror  in  Babylonia.     At  Nippur '  there 

'  By  the  expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  (see  Hilprecht,  Old 
B'(h.  J)is.,  i,  part  i,  p.  10). 


BABYLONIAN  HISTOKY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.     359 

have  been  found  sixty-one  fi'agments  of  vases  bear- 
ing the  name  of  the  king  Alusharshid.'  From  the 
fragments  of  these  vases  a  complete  inscription 
has  been  made  out,  which  reads :  "  Alusharshid, 
king  of  the  world,  presented  (it)  to  Bel  from  the 
spoil  of  Elam  when  he  had  subjugated  Elam  and 
Bara'se."  This  inscription  makes  known  the  im- 
portant fact  that  a  king,  living  probably  at  Kish, 
had  conquered  part  of  the  land  of  Elam  and  the 
unknown  land  of  Bara'se  (or  Para'se),  from  which 
he  brought  back  fine  marble  vases  and  dedicated 
them  to  the  gods  of  Babylonia.  It  is  significant 
that  these  vases  are  dedicated  to  gods  at  Nippur 
and  Sippar,"  for  in  this  we  find  indications  of  a 
kingdom  which  included  northern  Babylonia,  Nip- 
pur, Sippar,  and  extended  its  influence  even  over 
the  land  of  Elam.  And  with  these  few  faint  rays 
of  light  from  the  north  and  its  kingdom  darkness 
again  closes  in  upon  early  Babylonia. 

Once  more,  at  about  the  same  period,  do  we  get 
sight  of  a  bright  light  in  the  gray  dawn  of  his- 
tory, and  this  time  it  is  not  from  Babylonia,  but 
from  Guti,  the  mountain  country  of  Kurdistan, 
from  which  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  Rivers  came 
down  to  Assyria  and  Babylonia.     Here  reigned  a 

'  The  signs  with  which  the  name  is  written  are  Urc-mu-ush,  the  reading 
of  them  as  Alusharshid  as  well  as  the  translation  of  the  inscription  belongs 
to  Hilprecht  {op.  cit.,  p.  20). 

^  Inscriptions  of  Alusharshid  have  also  been  found  in  Sippar  {Academy, 
September  5,  1891,  p.  199,  P.  S.  (see  Hilprecht,  op.  cit,  p.  21),  and  still 
others  are  in  the  possession  of  the  British  Museum,  Cuneiform  Texts  from 
Babylonian  Tablets,  etc.,in  the  British  3Ttiseimi,  part  vii,  London,  1899,  Xos. 
12.161,  12,162. 


360     HISTORY  OP  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

king  whose  words  are  thus  read:  "Lasirab  (?) 
the  mighty  king  of  Guti,  .  .  .  has  made  and  pre- 
sented (it.)  Whoever  removes  this  inscribed  stone 
and  writes  (the  mention  of)  his  name  thereupon 
his  foundation  may  Guti,  Ninna,  and  Sin  tear  up, 
and  exterminate  his  seed,  and  may  whatsoever  he 
undertakes  not  prosper." '  In  itself  brief  and  un- 
important, this  little  text  introduces  us  to  another 
land  under  Semitic  influences  at  a  very  early 
period. 

Manishtusu,"  another  king  of  the  same  period, 
has  left  us  a  mace  head  and  a  stele  as  memorials 
of  his  sovereignty,  yet  we  have  few  clews  to  his 
personality. 

Far  away  also  from  northern  Babylonia,  in  the 
mountain  country  of  the  northeast,  there  existed 
at  about  this  same  period  another  Semitic  king- 
dom, of  which  Anu-banini  was  king.  His  was  the 
kingdom  of  Lulubi,  and  he  a  Semitic  ruler.  At 
Ser-i-Pul,  on  the  borderland  between  Kurdistan 
and  Turkey,  his  carved  image  has  been  found 
with  an  inscription  calling  down  curses  on  whom- 
soever should  disturb  "  these  images  and  this  in- 
scribed stone." ' 

'  The  credit  of  publishing  the  text  of  the  inscription  here  referred  to  be- 
longs to  Winckler  {Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  iv,  p.  406),  but  he  misunder- 
stood and  wrongly  dated  it  at  about  1600  B.  C.  {Geschichte,  p.  82).  Hil- 
precht  correctly  translated  and  located  it  on  palseographical  evidence 
{Old  Bab.  Jnscrip.,  i,  part  i,  pp.  12,  13). 

-  Altbahylonische  Keilschrifttexte,  von  Hugo  Winckler,  Leipzig,  1892,  No. 
eT,  p.  22. 

3  The  inscription  was  found  February  28,  1891,  by  J.  de  Morgan,  and  is 
published  by  Scheil  (Reaieil  de    Travonx  relatifs  a  la  Phil,  et  Archeohl. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.     361 

Here,  then,  are  several  signs  of  Semitic  power 
and  culture  in  northern  Babylonia  and  its  neigli- 
boring  lands.  Some  one  of  these  centers  of  influ- 
ence might  become  the  center  of  a  great  kingdom 
that  should  again  attack  the  Sumerians  in  the 
south.  But  this  was  reserved  for  a  city  whicli  had 
up  to  this  time  produced  no  great  conqueror.  Out 
of  the  city  of  Agade  came  a  man  of  Semitic  stock 
great  enough  to  essay  and  accomplish  the  task  of 
ending  finally  the  political  influence  of  the  Sume- 
rians. His  name  is  Shargani-shar-ali,  but  he  is  also 
called  Shargina,  and  is  best  known  to  us  as  Sargon 
I.  Most  of  that  which  is  told  of  him  comes  to  us 
in  a  legendary  text — hardly  the  place  to  which  one 
M^ould  commonly  go  for  sober  history.  But  a  little 
sifting  of  this  source  speedily ,  reveals  its  historic 

Egypt,  et  Ass.,  vol.  xiv,  liv.  1  &  2,  pp.  100,  ff.).  See  also  Hilprecht,  Old 
Bab.  Insc,  vol.  i,  part  i,  p.  14,  and  Hommel,  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Bib.  Archceology,  xxi,  pp.  115,  116.  The  inscription  had,  however,  been 
known  long  before  it  was  seen  by  De  Morgan.  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  knew 
it,  and,  indeed,  correctly  understood  it,  save  only  that  he  made  a  slight 
error  in  reading  the  name.  This  anticipation  of  later  work  by  the  great 
explorer  and  decipherer  is  made  plain  in  the  following  words  extracted 
from  an  unpublished  letter  written  under  date  of  September  lY,  1880,  by 
Rawlinson  to  Professor  Sayce :  "  Many  thanks  for  your  references,  which  I 
believe,  however,  were  all  duly  entered  in  my  notebooks.  I  am  afraid  we 
don't  take  quite  the  same  view  of  the  Geography  of  the  Inscriptions.  My 
own  idea  is  that,  at  any  rate  until  the  time  of  Sargon,  the  Assyrians  hardly 
penetrated  beyond  the  outer  range  of  the  Perhim  plateau.  I  think  I  can 
trace  all  the  early  campaigns  (and  can  identify  many  of  the  names)  along 
the  western  side  of  the  great  range  from  Sulimanieh  to  Susa.  Instead  of 
Nizir  being  at  Alwend  I  place  it  at  Bend-i-Nuh,  Noah's  ridge,  the  culminat- 
ing range  of  Zagros.  The  inscription  at  Sir  Pul  belongs  to  Kannubanini; 
king  of  the  Lulubini,  thus  fixing  their  locality  and  showing  them  to  be 
identical  with  the  modern  Luri  or  Luli." 
2n 


362     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIA. 

basis.  The  text,'  two  mutilated  copies  of  which 
are  in  existence,  belongs  to  a  much  later  date  than 
that  of  the  king  himself.  It  was  probably  written 
in  the  eighth  century  B.  C,  and  purports  to  be  a 
copy  of  an  inscription  which  was  found  upon  a 
statue  of  the  great  king.  The  story  begins  in  this 
way:  "Shargina,  the  powerful  king,  the  king  of 
Agade  am  I.  My  mother  was  poor,  my  father  I 
knew  not ;  the  brother  of  my  father  lived  in  the 
mountains.  My  town  was  Azupirani,  which  is 
situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Euphrates.  My 
mother,  who  was  poor,  conceived  me  and  secretly 
gave  birth  to  me ;  she  placed  me  in  a  basket  of 
reeds,  she  shut  up  the  mouth  of  it  with  bitumen, 
she  abandoned  me  to  the  river,  which  did  not  over- 
whelm me.  The  river  bore  me  away  and  brought 
me  to  Akki,  the  irrigator.  Akki,  the  irrigator,  re- 
ceived me  in  the  goodness  of  his  heart.  Akki,  the 
irrigator,  reared  me  to  boyhood.  Akki,  the  irri- 
gator made  me  a  gardener.  My  service  as  a  gar- 
dener was  pleasing  unto  Ishtar  and  I  became  king, 
and  during  .  .  .  -four  years  held  royal  sway.  I 
commanded  the  blackheaded  people  and  ruled 
them."  In  the  fragmentary  lines  which  follow 
the  king  mentions  some  of  the  important  places 
conquered  in  his  reign,  and  among  them  names 
Dur-il  and  Dilmun,  the  latter  an  island  in  the  Per- 

'  Published  III  R.  4,  No.  7.  It  has  been  frequently  translated,  for  ex- 
ample, by  George  Smith,  Tramactions  of  the  Society  of  Bib.  Arch.,  i,  pp.  46, 
47;  by  Fox  Talbot,  Records  of  the  Past,  first  series,  vol.  v,  pp.  1,  ff. ;  by 
Delitzseh,  Paradies,  pp.  208,  209 ;  and  by  Wiuckler,  Keiliiischrift.  Bibl., 
iii,  1,  pp.  100-103. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    363 

sian  Gulf.  Uuhappily  this  account  does  not  enable 
ns  to  construct  a  very  clear  idea  of  his  campaigns, 
and  we  are  forced  to  fall  back  upon  a  source  which 
at  first  sight  seems  even  less  likely  to  contain  ver- 
itable historical  material  than  the  legendary  tab- 
let which  we  have  just  cited.  This  is  an  astro- 
logical tablet '  in  which  the  writer  tries  to  prove 
by  historical  examples  that  portents  are  valuable 
as  indicating  the  issue  of  some  campaign.  Each 
campaign  was  preceded  by  some  portent,  and  after 
it  is  told  the  writer  explains  that  Sargon  invaded 
Elam  and  conquered  the  Elamites,  or  that  he 
marched  into  the  west  and  mastered  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world ;  or  that  he  overcame  an  up. 
rising  of  his  own  subjects  in  Agade.  The  fact  that 
these  details  occur  in  an  astrological  text  makes 
one  wary  of  placing  much  reliance  upon  them.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  are  perfectly  reasonable  in 
themselves,  and  we  should  accept  them  at  once 
from  any  other  inscription. 

It  has  been  maintained  by  some  that  Shargiua, 
or  Sargon,  and  his  great  deeds  are  purely  legend- 
ary,' and  by  others  that  his  deeds  have  been 
simply  projected  backward '  from  some  later  king^ 

'  First  published  by  George  Smith  in  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Bih- 
l(cal.Arch(eology,  i,  pp.  47-51,  and  IV  R,  34.  See  partial  translations  by 
Hommel  (Gesehichte,  pp.  304-306)  and  Winckler  {Keilinschrift.  Bib!.,  iii, 
part  i,  pp.  102-107).  The  text  is  republished  in  IV  Rawlinson,  second 
edition,  plate  34. 

"  So,  for  example,  Winckler,  Gesehichte  Bab.  und  Assyrieiis,  p.  38. 

^Hommel  supposed  the  existence  of  another  king  Sargon,  whom  he 
located  about  2000  B.  C,  whose  conquests  he  believed  were  ascribed  to 
the  earlier  king  {Gesehichte,  Berlin,  1885,  p.  307,  note  4).     He  has,  how- 


364     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

and  have  therefore  no  historical  value.  There  is, 
however,  no  valid  reason  for  doubting  the  main 
facts  concerning  the  king's  achievements.  That 
he  actually  existed  is  placed  beyond  all  doubt  by 
the  discovery  of  several  of  his  own  inscriptions.' 
One  of  these  reads  thus :  "  Shargani-shar-ali,  son 
of  Itti-Bel,  the  mighty  king  of  Agade  and  of  the 
...  of  Bel,  builder  of  Ekur,  temple  of  Bel  in 
Nippur,"''  and  so  bears  witness  not  only  to  his 
historical  existence,  but  also  to  his  work  as  a 
builder.  Of  that  tangible  evidence  has  been 
found  at  Nippur.  Far  down  in  the  mound  is 
found  the  remains  of  a  "pavement  consisting  of 
two  courses  of  burned  bricks  of  uniform  size  and 
mold.  Each  brick  measures  about  fifty  centimeters 
square  and  is  eight  centimeters  thick." '  Most  of 
the  bricks  in  this  pavement  are  stamped,  and  a  num- 
ber of  them  contain  the  inscription  of  Shargani- 
shar-ali,  who  is  thus  shown  to  have  laid  down  this 
massive  construction,  in  which  later  his  son  also 
participated.  No  good  reason  for  doubting  that 
he  was  a  great  conqueror,  east,  south,  and  west, 
has  been  brought  forward.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  these  same  omen  tablets  refer  to  his  son  and 

ever,  since  accepted  the  historical  character  of  this  king  (art.  "  Babylonia," 
Diet,  of  the  Bible,  Hastings,  i,  p.  225,  art.  "  The  Oldest  History  of  the 
Semites,"  Expository  Times,  December,  1896,  vol.  viii,  pp.  103,  ff.).  Mas- 
pero  believes  that  it  is  Sargon  11  (722-705  B.  C),  who  is  projected  back- 
ward [Daivn  of  Civilization,  Eng.  trans..  New  York,  1885,  p.  599). 

'  Published  by  Winckler,  Althahylonische  Keilschrifttexte,  p.  22,  and 
by  Hilprecht,  Old  Babyl.  Im.,  vol.  i,  part  i,  plates  1-3. 

'  Hilprecht,  Old  Babyl.  Lis.,  vol.  i,  part  i,  p.  15. 

"  Op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  part  ii,  p.  19. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    365 

successor  they  can  be  tested  by  texts  of  the  king 
referred  to,  and  prove  to  be  worthy  of  credence. 
The  allusions  to  these  expeditions  show  that  they 
were  raids  intended  to  gain  plunder  with  which  to 
increase  the  wealth  and  beauty  of  his  home  cities. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  he  succeeded  in  ex- 
tending his  dominion  over  lands  so  distant  as 
northern  Syria,  but  that  the  securing  of  great  cedar 
beams  from  the  Lebanon  was  the  chief  object  of 
that  expedition.  A  use  for  these  cedar  beams  was 
soon  found  in  buildings.  The  great  temple  of 
Ekur  to  the  god  Bel  in  Nippur  and  the  temple  of 
Eulbar  to  the  goddess  Anunit  in  Agade  were 
built  by  him.'  Other  allusions  to  buildings  erected 
by  him  are  also  to  be  found  in  later  inscriptions. 
In  warlike  prowess  he  was  the  model  for  an  Assyr- 
ian king  who  .bore  his  name  centuries  later;  in 
building  skill  he  was  emulated  by  a  long  line  of 
Babylonian  kings  even  unto  Nabonidus,  who 
sought  diligently  to  find  the  foundation  stones 
which  he  had  laid.  In  the  omen  tablet  there  is 
evidence  of  credulous  faith  in  the  signs  of  heaven, 
but  that  is  surely  no  reason  for  doubting  all  that 
is  told  therein  of  Sargon.  A  lonesome  figure  he 
is,  in  the  dull  gray  dawn  of  human  history,  stalking 
across  the  scene,  bringing  other  men  to  reverence 
the  name  of  Ishtar,  and  making  his  own  personal- 
ity dreaded. 

Sargon  was  succeeded   by  his   son,  Naram-Sin 

'  I  R.,  69,  col.  ii,  line  29  {Keilimchrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  2,  pp.  84,  85,  tr.  by 
Peisei). 


3G6     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

(about  B.  C.  3750),  who  seems  to  bave  maintaiued 
in  large  degree  the  glory  of  liis  father's  reigii. 
The  records  of  his  reigii  are  fragmentary,  but 
every  little  piece  bears  witness  to  its  importance. 
He  is  asserted  to  have  invaded  the  city  of  Apirak, 
and  to  have  carried  the  people  into  slavery  after 
he  had  killed  their  king,  Eish-Adad.*  His  chief 
warlike  expedition  known  to  us  was  into  the 
land  of  Magan,"  which  appears  to  lie  in  Arabia, 
near  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai.  But  he  was  still 
more  famous  as  a  builder,  for  he  rebuilt  temples 
in  Nippur  'and  in  Agade,  and  erected  at  his  OAvn 
cost  the  temple  to  the  sun  god  in  Sippar.'  Be- 
sides these  temples  this  great  king  laid  the  foun- 
dations and  erected  the  enormous  outer  wall  of 
Nippur — the  great  wall  Nimit-Marduk.  He  first 
dug  for  his  foundations  about  five  meters  below  the 
level  of  the  ground  down  to  the  solid  clay.  Upon 
this  he  "built  of  worked  clay  mixed  with  cut 
straw  and  laid  up  en  masse  with  roughly  sloping  or 
battered  sides  to  a  total  height  of  about  5.5  meters. 
Upon  the  top  of  this  large  base,  which  is  about 
13.75  meters  wide,  a  wall  of  the  same  enormous 


•  This  fact  comes  from  the  astrological  tablet,  discussed  above  under 
Sargon,  col.  ii,  lines  12-14. 

'^  Ibid.,  lines  15-16.  Comp.  I  R.  3,  No.  7  (on  an  object  brought  from 
Magan). 

3  Brick  stamps  of  this  king  have  been  found  at  Nippur  bearing  the 
legend,  "Naram-Sin,  builder  of  the  temple  of  Bel."  Hilprecht,  Old 
Babylonia  Ins.,  i,  part  i,  p.  18. 

■•  V  R.,  p.  64,  col.  ii,  lines  57-60  (trans,  by  Peiser  in  Keilinschrift.  Bib., 
iii,  part  ii,  p.  105. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.     367 

■width  "  '  was  raised.  The  bricks  were  "dark  gray 
in  color,  firm  iu  texture,  and  of  regular  form.  In 
quality  they  are  unsurpassed  by  the  work  of  any 
later  king.'"  Each  of  these  bricks  bore  the 
stamped  name  and  titles  of  the  king.  A  king 
who  could  and  did  construct  such  massive  fortifi- 
cations must  have  possessed  a  kingdom  of  great 
political  importance,  of  w^hose  extent,  however,  it  is 
now  impossible  to  form  a  very  clear  idea.  His 
chief  city,  or  at  least  his  original  home  city,  was 
Afifade,  but  he  calls  himself  Kino^  of  the  Four 
Quarters  of  the  World,  in  token  of  the  world- 
wide dominion  which  he  deemed  himself  to  have 
attained.  It  is  small  wonder  that  a  king  who 
had  thus  won  honor  among  men  as  a  builder  of 
mighty  works  and  an  organizer  of  a  great  king- 
dom should  be  deified '  by  his  followers  and  wor- 
shiped as  a  creator.  Nothing  is  known  of  the 
successors  of  Naram-Sin  except  of  his  son,  Bingani- 
shar-ali.  The  kingdom  of  Sargon  and  his  son 
vanishes  from  our  view  as  rapidly  as  it  came, 
leaving  not  even  a  trace  of  its  effects. 

Sargon  I  had  had  as  one  of  his  vassals  Lugal- 

'  Hilprecht,  Old  Bab.,  Inst.,  vol.  i,  part  ii,  p.  20. 

^  This  is  the  judgment  of  Haynes,  who  dug  down  this  wall.  See  Hil- 
precht, op.  cit.,  p.  21. 

3  Cesnola  found  at  Curium  in  Cyprus  a  seal  with  this  inscription,  "  Apal- 
Ishtar  (?)  son  of  Ilu-bana,  servant  of  the  god  Naram-Sin  "  (see  Tomkins, 
Abraham  and  His  Age,  London,  1897,  plate  x,  and  p.  xxviii).  This 
would  seem  to  show  that  Naram-Sin  had  been  deified.  See  also  M. 
Thureau  Dangin  (in  Rev^ie  d'Assyriologie,  vol.  iv.  No.  iii,  p.  76),  who  quotes 
the  legend,  "The  god  Naram-Sin,  god  of  Agade,  Sharru-Ishdagal,  the 
scribe,  thy  servant." 


368     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

ushumgal,'  patesi  of  Shirpurla,  and  it  seems  quite 
probable  that  after  the  end  of  the  dynasty  of  Sar- 
gon  and  Naram-Sin  the  hegemony  returned  to 
the  famous  old  city  which  had  once  stood  at  the 
head  in  the  earlier  day  of  the  entire  Sumerian 
domination.  Whether  that  be  the  case  or  not, 
when  we  next  get  a  clear  view  of  Babylonia,  long 
after  the  days  of  the  kings  of  Agade,  it  is  Shir- 
purla that  we  find  in  the  chief  place.  Of  the 
patesis  of  Shirpui'la  at  this  early  date  two  are 
known  to  us  as  men  of  power  and  distinction, 
Ur-Bau  (about  3200  B.  C.)  and  Gudea  (about  3000 
B.  C).  We  possess  a  long  inscription  of  the  for- 
mei',  containing  six  columns,*  engraved  upon  the 
back  of  a  small  statue  of  the  king,  which  has 
been  wrought  with  considerable  skill  out  of  dark 
green  diorite.  Like  other  inscriptions  of  the  same 
period,  it  contains  but  little  material  for  historical 
purposes.  There  is  no  word  of  battle  and  war ; 
all  is  peace  serene  in  these  ancient  texts.  It  is 
not,  however,  to  be  supposed  that  the  lot  of  these 
kingdoms  was  thus  happy.  It  must  always  be 
remembered  that  even  unto  the  end  the  kings  of 
Babylonia  did  not  write  accounts  of  their  wars. 
From  other  sources  we  know  well  that  Nebuchad- 


'  Heuzey,  Comptes  Rendus  de  V Acadlmle  des  htscriptious  et  belles-lettres 
(seance  du  28  aout,  1896). 

'  Published  by  Heuzey  in  De  Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  plates  7,  8, 
copied  and  translated  by  Amiaud,  in  the  same  work.  See  also  Y.  Le  Gac 
in  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vii,  pp.  125,  ff.,  and  Jensen,  Keil.  Bib.,  iii, 
part  i,  pp.  19,  ff.  Revue  d'' Assyriologie  et  d^Archeologie  Orient  ale,  ii,  pp^ 
124-135,  and  iii,  pp.  42-48. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    369 

rezzar  was  a  great  soldier,  but  iu  only  a  single  one 
of  his  own  inscriptions  does  he  speak  of  aught  else 
but  building  of  palaces  and  temples  and  dedica- 
tions to  the  gods.  Ur-Bau  had,  doutless,  his  fair 
share  of  the  tumults  of  a  very  disturbed  age. 

The  inscriptions  of  Gudea  are  similar  to  tliose 
of  Ur-Bau  in  their  subjects,  but  they  give  us  inci- 
dentally a  glimpse  into  a  wider  field.  Ur-Bau 
was  succeeded  on  tbe  throne  by  Namraagliani,  his 
son-in-law,  who  was,  perhaps,  followed  by  Ur-nin- 
gal,  and  then  comes  a  break  in  the  list  to  be  filled 
by  one  or  more  kings  yet  unknown  to  us.  After 
this  lacuna  comes  the  mighty  Gudea,  a  king  great 
enough  to  prove  that  even  yet  the  Sumerian  factor 
could  not  be  eliminated  from  the  world's  history. 
Like  Ur-Bau,  he  was  a  great  builder,  and  of  his 
Avondeiful  work  his  inscriptions  are  full.  In 
the  building  of  his  temples  Gudea  was  directed 
by  a  divine  vision.  The  goddess  Nina  appeared 
to  him  in  a  dream  and  showed  him  the  complete 
model  of  a  building  *  which  he  should  erect  in  her 
honor.  In  the  execution  of  this  plan  he  brought 
from  Magan  (northeastern  Arabia)  the  beautiful 
hard  dolerite  out  of  which  his  statues  were  carved. 
From  the  land  of  Melukhkha  (northwestern  Arabia 
and  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai)  were  brought  gold  and 

'  Gudea  A,  published  by  Amiaud  in  De  Sarzec,  Becouvertes,  etc.,  p.  iv, 
plates  20  and  13,  and  page  134.  The  credit  of  first  explaining  the  exceed- 
ingly difficult  expressions  in  this  text  which  refer  to  the  dream  belongs  to 
Zimmern  {^Traumgestcht  Oudea's,  in  Zeitsehrift  fur  Assyrlahffie,  iii,  pp. 
232-235).  See  now  Price,  The  Great  Cylinder  Inscriptions  of  Gudea,  part 
1.     Leipzig,  1899. 


S70     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

precious  stones.  These  lands  were  not  far  from 
his  own,  but  it  is  more  surprising  to  read  that  he 
brought  from  Mount  Amanus,  in  northwestern  Sjt- 
ia,  great  beams  of  cedar,  and  in  other  neighboring 
mountains  quarried  massive  stones  for  his  temples. 
All  these  facts  throw  a  bright  light  upon  the  civili- 
zation of  his  day.  That  was  no  ordinary  civiliza- 
tion which  could  achieve  work  requiring  such  skill 
and  power  as  the  quarrying  or  the  cutting  of 
these  materials  and  the  transportation  of  them  over 
such  distances.  A  long  period  for  its  develop- 
ment must  be  assumed.  Centuries  only  and  not 
merely  decades  would  suffice  as  the  period  of 
preparation  for  such  accomplishments.  But  it  is 
also  to  be  observed  that  the  securing  of  these  ma- 
terials must  have  involved  the  use  of  armed  force. 
The  sturdy  inhabitants  of  the  Amanus  would  not 
probably  yield  up  their  timber  without  a  struggle. 
One  little  indication  there  is  of  Gudea's  prow- 
ess in  arms,  for  he  conquered  the  district  of 
Anshan,  in  Elam.'  This  single  allusion  to  conquest 
is  instructive,  for  it  was  probably  only  representa- 
tive of  other  conquests  by  the  same  builder  and 
warrior.  But  in  spite  of  this  inference  the  general 
impression  made  by  his  reign  is  one  of  peace,  of 
progress  in  civilization,  of  splendid  ceremonial  in 
the  worship  of  the  gods,  and  of  the  progi-ess  of  the 
art  of  writing:.  As  a  warrior  he  is  not  to  be  com- 
pared  with  Sargon  of  Agade ;   as  an  exponent  of 

'  Gudea  B,  col.  vi,  64-66.     Comp.  Jensen,  Keilinschrift.  Bibl,  iii,  part 
1,  p.  38,  note  9. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARS  A.    371 

civilization  he  far  surpasses  him.  The  successor 
of  Gudea  was  Urniugirsu,  hiraself  followed  after 
an  interval  by  Akurgal  II,  Lukani,  and  Ghalala- 
ma.'  But  these  later  patesis  were  no  longer  free 
to  do  their  own  will  as  Gudea  had  been.  With  hin? 
had  again  passed  away  the  independence  of  the 
ancient  kingdom  of  Shirpurla. 

The  civilization  of  Shirpurla  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  a  high  one.  From  the  indications  which  we 
possess  at  present  it  would  seem  a  far  higher  civ- 
ilization than  that  of  Agade,  which  had  ovei'come 
it  for  a  time.  But  it  was  not  a  Semitic  civiliza- 
tion. All  these  inscriptions  of  the  kings  and  of 
the  ])atesis  of  Shirpurla  are  written  in  the  Sume- 
rian  and  not  in  a  Semitic  language.  This  also 
would  seem  to  point  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
Semites  entered  Babylonia  from  the  north  and  not 
from  the  south. 

From  Shirpurla  the  power  passed  to  Ur,"  a 
city  admirably  situated  to  achieve  commercial 
and  historical  importance.  The  river  Euphrates 
flowed  just  past  its  gates,  affording  easy  transpor- 
tation for  stone  and  wood  from  its  upper  waters,  to 
which  the  Lebanon,  rich  in  cedars,  and  the  Ama- 
nus  were  readily  accessible.     The  wady  Rummein 

'  Lukani  and  Ghalalama  are  known  to  us  from  an  inscription  of  the  lat- 
ter upon  a  fragment  of  a  statue  now  in  the  Louvre.  See  Heuzey,  Remie 
Archeologique,  1886,  pi.  vii,  No.  1.,  and  also  in  De  Sarzec,  Deconvertes,  pi. 
21,  No.  4  ;  Jensen,  Keilhischrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  part  1,  pp.  70,  71. 

*  The  ruins  of  Ur,  now  called  Mugheir,  have  long  been  known.  Thev 
were  first  explored  by  Taylor  and  Loftus.  The  early  references  to  TJr  and 
its  commerce  have  been  collected  by  Hommel  {Die  Semitischen  Volker  u. 
Sprachen,  pp.  204-211,  and  Oeschichte,  pp.  212-218,  325-329). 


372     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

came  close  to  the  city  and  linked  it  with  central 
and  southern  Arabia,  and  along  that  road  came 
gold  and  precious  stones,  and  gums  and  perfumes 
to  be  converted  into  incense  for  temple  worship. 
Another  road  went  across  the  very  desert  itself, 
and,  provided  with  wells  of  water,  conducted  trade 
to  southern  Syria,  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai,  and  across 
into  Africa.  This  was  the  shortest  road  to  Africa, 
and  commerce  between  Ur  and  Egypt  passed  over 
its  more  difficult  but  much  shorter  route  than  the 
one  by  way  of  Haran  and  Palestine.  Nearly  op- 
posite the  city  the  Shatt-el-Hai  emptied  into  the 
Euphrates,  and  so  afforded  a  passage  for  boats  into 
the  Tigris,  thus  opening  to  the  commerce  of  Ur 
the  vast  country  tributary  to  that  river.  Here, 
then,  were  roads  and  rivers  leading  to  the  north, 
east,  and  west,  but  there  was  also  a  great  outlet  to 
the  southward.  The  Euphrates  made  access  to  the 
Persian  Gulf  easy.  No  city  lay  south  of  Ur  on 
that  river  except  Eridu,  and  Eridu  was  no  compet- 
itor in  the  world  of  commerce,  for  it  was  devoted 
only  to  temples  and  gods — a  city  given  up  to  religion. 
In  a  city  so  favorably  located  as  Ur  the  devel- 
opment of  political  as  well  as  commercial  superi- 
oi'ity  seems  perfectly  natural.  Even  before  the 
days  of  Sargon  the  city  of  Ur  had  an  existence 
and  a  government  of  its  own.  To  that  early  pe- 
riod belong  the  rudely  written  vases  of  serpentine 
and  of  stalagmite  which  bear  the  name  and  titles 
of  Lugal-kigub-nidudu '  (about  3900   B.  C),  king 

'  Published  by  Hilprecht,  Old  Bab.  Ins.,  vol.  i,  part  ii,  No.  86. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    373 

of  Erech,  king  of  Ur.  We  know  nothing  of  his 
work  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  city,  nor  of  that  of 
his  son  and  successor,  Lugal-kisalsi.  They  are  but 
empty  names  until  further  discovery  shall  add  to 
the  store  of  their  inscribed  remains.  After  their 
work  was  done  the  city  of  Ur  was  absorbed  no\v 
into  one  and  now  into  another  of  the  kingdoms, 
both  small  and  great,  which  held  sway  over  south- 
ern Babylonia. 

About  a  thousand  years  after  this  period  the  city 
of  Ur  again  seized  a  commanding  position  through 
the  efforts  especially  of  two  kings,  Ur-Gur'  and 
Dungi.  The  former  has  left  many  evidences  of  his 
power  as  well  in  inscriptions  as  in  buildings.  Most 
probably  by  conquest  Ur-Gur  welded  into  one  polit- 
ical whole  the  entire  land  of  northern  and  southern 
Babylonia,  and  assumed  a  title  never  borne  before 
his  day.  He  calls  himself  king  of  Sumer  and 
Accad.  In  that  title  he  joined  together  two 
words  each  of  which  contained  a  history  extend- 
ing far  back  into  the  past.  The  word  Sumer,  de- 
rived from  Sungir,  as  we  have  already  seen,'  stood 
for  the  ancient  Sumerian  civilization,  while  Accad 
had  come  from  Agade,'  the  city  that  was  once  the 

'  The  reading  of  the  name  of  this  king  has  long  been  a  bone  of  conten- 
tion. It  has  been  read  Urukh,  Urkham,  Orkham,  Urbagas,  Urbabi,  Lik- 
babi,  Amilapsi,  Urea,  Likbagas,  Urban,  etc.  Recently  the  form  Ur-Gur 
has  seemed  likely  to  prevail.  Inscriptions  of  this  king  are  published  I  R. 
1,  and  translated  by  Winckler,  KeUhischrift.  BlbL,  iii,  part  i,  pp.  TV,  ff. 

2  See  above,  p.  205. 

2  The  identification  rests  in  the  beginning  upon  a  statement  of  George 
Smith  :  "  I  have  only  recently  discovered  the  identity  of  Akkad  with  the 
capital  of  Sargon  "  {Assyrian  Discoveries,  p.  225),  based  on  the  finding  of 


374     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

leader  in  the  new  Semitic  movement  which  was 
to  supersede  it.  In  this  new  kingdom  we  may  see 
the  first  clear  move  made  toward  the  formation  of 
the  great  empire  that  was  to  come  later. 

All  over  this  kingdom  which  he  had  thus 
foi'med  did  Ur-Gur  build  great  structures  for  pro- 
tection, for  civil  use,  or  for  the  worship  of  the 
gods.  In  his  own  chief  city  of  Ur  he  built  the 
great  temple  to  the  moon  god ;  in  the  city  of  Erech 
he  erected  a  temple  to  the  goddess  Nina.  At  Larsa 
also  there  are  found  unmistakable  evidences  that 
it  was  he  who  built  there  the  shrine  of  the  sun 
god.  When  these  cities  are  dug  up  in  a  systematic 
fashion  we  shall  be  able  to  obtain  some  conception 
of  his  activity  in  this  matter.  At  present  we  are 
able  to  form  a  more  complete  picture  of  his  works 
in  Nippur  than  in  Ur.  In  Nij^pur  he  built  a  great 
ziggurat,  or  pyramidal  tower,  whose  base  was  a 
"right-angled  parallelogram  nearly  fifty-nine  metei*s 
long  and  thirty-nine  meters  wide.  Its  two  longest 
sides  faced  northwest  and  southeast  respectively, 
and  the  four  corners  pointed  approximately  to  the 
four  cardinal  points.  Three  of  these  stages  have 
been  traced  and  exposed.  It  is  scarcely  possible 
that  formerly  other  stages  existed  above.  The 
lowest  story  was  about  six  and  a  third  meters  high, 
while  the  second  (receding  a  little  over  four  metei's 


Agade  in  a  Sumerian  text  with  the  interlineal  transcription  Accad  in  As- 
syrian. Comp.  Delitzsch,  Paradies,  p.  198,  and  Hilprecht,  Old  Babylonian 
Jtiscrip.,  i,  part  ii,  p.  58.  On  the  other  hand,  Tiele,  {Geschichte,  p.  76).. 
and  Lehmann  (Shamashshumukin,  p.  73)  argue  against  the  view. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    375 

from  the  edge  of  the  former)  and  the  third  are  so 
utterly  ruined  that  the  original  dimensions  can  no 
more  be  given.  The  whole  ziggurat  appears  like 
an  immense  altar." '  The  defensive  walls  of  Ur 
were  also  built  by  Ur-Gur,  who  seemed  to  be 
building  for  all  time.  Of  his  wars  and  conquests 
we  hear  no  word,  but,  as  has  been  said  before  in 
a  similar  instance,  it  is  not  probable  that  his  reign 
was  thus  peaceful.  It  was  probably  built  by  the 
sword,  and  to  the  sword  must  be  the  appeal  per- 
haps in  frequent  instances. 

Ur-Gur  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Dungi,*  who 
was  also  indefatigable  in  building  operations.  He 
completed  the  temple  of  the  moon  god  in  Ur,  and 
built,  also,  in  Erech,  Shirpurla,  and  Kutha.  These 
two  names  of  Ur-Gur  and  Duugi  are  all  that  re- 
main of  what  was  perhaps  a  considerable  dynasty  in 
Ur.  Their  buildings  and  their  titles  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  they  held  at  least  nominal  sway  over 
a  considerable  part  of  Babylonia.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  they  were  contented  with  the  regular 
receipt  of  tribute,  and  did  not  attempt  to  control 
all  the  life  of  the  cities  subject  to  them.  Each  of 
these  cities  had  its  own  local  ruler,  who  submitted 
to  the  superior  force  of  a  great  king,  who  was  to 
him  a  sort  of  suzerain,  but  on  the  least  show  of 
weakness  any  one  of  these  rulers  was  ready  to  set 
up  his  own  independence,  and,  if  he  were  strong 

'  Hilprecht,  Old  Bab.  Ins.,  vol.  i,  part  ii,  pp.  17,  18. 
^  The  inscriptions  of  Dungi  are  published  I  R.   2,  and  translated  by 
Winckler,  Kesilinschrift.  £ibl.,  iii,  part  i,  pp.  81,  ff. 


376      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

enough  compel  also  his  neighbors  to  accept  him 
as  suzerain.  When  the  dynasty  of  Ur-Gur  and 
Dungi  \vas  no  longer  able  to  maintain  its  position 
in  Babylonia  there  were  not  wanting  men  strong 
enough  to  seize  it. 

After  some  time,  when  we  again  are  able,  by 
the  means  of  monumental  material,  to  see  the  po- 
litical life  of  Babylonia  we  find  that  the  supremacy 
has  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  city  of  Isin.  The 
kings  of  Isin  whose  names  have  comedown  to  us  are 
Ishbigarra,'  Ur-Ninib/  Libit  Ishtar,'  Bur  Sin  I,' 
and  Ishme-Dagan,'  who  ruled  about  2500  B.  C. 
The  chief  title  used  by  them  is  king  of  Isin,  but 
some  of  them  use  the  greater  title,  king  of  Sumer 
and  Accad.  All  of  them  use  the  names  of  other 
cities  in  addition  to  that  of  Isin,  such  as  Nippur, 
Ur,  Eridu,  and  Erech.  Their  inscriptions  give  no 
hint  of  the  life  of  these  cities  or  of  the  never-end- 
ing struggles  for  supremacy  that  must  have  been 
going  on.  To  their  titles  they  add  only  an  occa- 
sional allusion  to  building  or  to  restoration.  Ishme- 
Dagan  is  the  last  man  of  this  dynasty  to  bear  the 
title  of  king  of  Sumer  and  Accad ;  his  sou,  En- 
annatuma,*  acknowledges  his  dependence  upon  a 

J  IV  R.  35,  7,  line  9. 

^  The  name  used  to  be  read  Gamil-Ninib  (Hilprecht,  Old  Bab.  Ins.,  i, 
part  i,  p.  27) ;  for  his  inscriptions  comp.  also  IV  R.  35,  5  {Keilinschrift. 
Blbl.,  iii,  part  i,  p.  85). 

^  The  name  is  also  read  Libit- Anunit  (Hilprecht,  Old  Bah.  Lis.,  i,  part  i, 
p.  27.    Comp.  also  I  R.  3,  No.  xviii  [Keilinschrift.  Bibl.,  iii.,  part  i,  p.  87). 

■^  Hilprecht,  op.  cit.,  p.  27. 

*  I  R.  2,  No,  5,  1  and  2  {Keilinschrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  part  i,  p.  87). 

^  I  R.  No.  6,  sub.  1  and  2  {Keilimchrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  part  i,  p.  87). 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    377 

king  of   II  r  wlio  begins  a  new  dynasty  in  that 
famous  old  city. 

The  third  dynasty  of  Ur  consists  of  Dungi  II, 
Gungunii,  Bur  Sin  II,  Gamil  Sin,  and  Ine-Siu/ 
They  began  to  reign  about  2400  B.  C.  as  kings  of 
Ur,  and  to  that  add  the  curious  title  '*  King  of 
the  Four  Quarters  (of  the  world)."  Where  was 
the  Kingdom  of  the  Four  Quarters  of  the  World, 
and  why  do  the  kings  use  such  a  title  ?  It  ap- 
pears much  earlier  in  an  inscription  of  Naram-Sin, 
and  is  applied  also  to  Sargon  after  his  three  cam- 
paigns in  the  west,  while  an  inscription  of  Dungi 
bears  the  same  curious  legend.  Again  and  again 
in  later  centuries  is  the  title  borne  by  kings  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria.  It  has  been  thought  to 
be  the  name  of  some  kingdom  with  a  definite  geo- 
graphical location  and  a  capital  city.  It  has  been 
located  at  several  places  in  northern  Babylonia, 
but  without  satisfactory  reason.  The  title  is 
rather  the  claim  to  a  sort  of  world-wide  dominion. 
Well  indeed  might  Sargon  use  it  after  he  had 
made  expeditions  into  the  west  and  laid  the  whole 
civilized  world  tributary  at  his  feet.  The  use  of 
the  title  by  these  kings  may  also  imply  some 
successful  raids  in  the  far  west."  If  there  were 
any  such,  no  account  of  them  has  come  down  to  us. 

'  On  the  inscriptions  of  these  kings  see  Hilprecht,  Old.  Bab.  Ins.,  i, 
part  i,  p.  27,  and  comi>a.Te  Keilinschrifl.  Bibl.,  iii,  part  i,  pp.  87-91.  See  also 
Sayce,  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Bib.  Arch.,  vol.  xxi,  pp.  19,  ff.  F. 
Thureau-Dangin,  Bevue  Semitique,  1897,  pp.  72,  fF. 

'  On  this  title,  King  of  the  Four  Quarters  (shar  kibrat  irbitti),  see  espe- 
cially Lehmann,  Beitrdge  zu  Assyriologie,  ii,  p.  618;    Hilprecht,  Old  Bab. 
Inx.,  vol.  i,  part  i,  p.  25. 
2G 


378     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Besides  the  usual  records  of  their  building  we 
have  from  this  dynasty  only  hundreds  of  contract 
tablets,  now  scattered  in  museums  nearly  all  over 
the  world.  These  tablets,  uninteresting  in  them- 
selves, are  yet  the  witnesses  of  an  extraordinary 
development  in  commercial  lines.  The  land  of 
Babylonia  was  waxing  rich  and  laying  the 
foundations  for  great  power  in  the  world  of 
trade  when  its  political  supremacy  was  ended. 
The  end  of  the  dynasty,  and  with  it  the  end  of 
the  dominion  of  Ur,  is  clouded  in  the  mists  of  the 
past. 

At  about  this  same  period  there  was  also  in  ex- 
istence a  small  kingdom  called  the  kingdom  of 
Amnanu,'  with  its  chief  city  Erech.  The  names 
of  three  of  its  sovereigns  have  come  down  to  us 
upon  brief  inscriptions,'  the  chiefest  of  them  be- 
ing apparently  Sin-gashid.  Unlike  the  kingdoms 
founded  in  Ur  and  in  other  cities,  this  kingdom  of 
Amnanu  seems  to  have  exerted  but  small  influ- 
ence upon  the  historical  development  of  the  coun- 
try. The  name  of  the  kingdom  disappears,  and 
is  attached  to  no  later  king  until  it  is  suddenly 
used  again  by  Shamashshumukin  (667-647  B.  C.),* 
but  apparently  without  any  special  significance,* 
and  rather  as  a  reminiscence  of  ancient  days. 

'  Comp.  Winckler,  AUorientalische  Forschungen,  i,  pp.  231,  232. 

'I  R.  2,  No.  viii,  1,  2.  IV  R.  35,  3,  Brit.  Mus.,  82,  1-U,  181,  copied 
by  Peiser.  All  these  are  translated  by  Winckler,  Keilinschrift.  £ibl.,  iii, 
part  i,  pp.  82-85. 

'  V  R.  62,  No.  2,  line  2.  Comp.  Lehmann,  Shamasshshumukin,  ii  Theil, 
Tafel  i  and  ii. 

*  See  Winckler  as  above  and  comp.  Lehmann,  op.  cit.,  i  Theil,  p.  75. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    379 

After  Ur,  in  the  progress  of  the  development  of 
empire  in  Babylonia,  came  the  dominion  unto 
Larsa,  the  modern  Senkereh,  on  the  bank  of  the 
canal  Shatt-en-Nil.  The  names  of  two  of  the 
chief  kings  of  this  dynasty  are  Nur-Adad'  and 
his  son,  Sin-iddin/  but  the  order  in  which  they 
stand  is  still  uncertain.  Both  of  these  kings  built 
in  Ur,  and  Sin-iddin  also  founded  a  temple  to  the 
sun  god  in  Larsa,  and  dug  a  new  canal  be- 
tween the  Tigris  and  the  Shatt-en-Nil.  This  work 
of  canal  building,  which  became  so  important  and 
so  highly  prized  in  the  later  history,  begins  there- 
fore at  this  early  period.  The  king  who  built 
canals  saved  the  land  from  flood  in  the  spring 
and  from  drought  in  the  summer  and  was  a  real 
public  benefactor.  The  names  of  the  other  kings 
who  ruled  in  Larsa  and  had  dominion  in  Babylonia 
at  this  time  are  either  w^holly  unknown  to  us  or 
are  exceedingly  difficult  to  place  in  correct  order. 

The  times  were  sorely  disturbed  and  it  is  easy 
to  understand  why  the  Babylonian  records  are  in 
such  disorder  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  understand 
the  exact  order  of  events.  At  this  time  a  new 
factor  in  Babylonian  history  was  making  itself 
felt.  Babylonia  had  long  been  the  battle  ground 
between  the  ancient  Sumerians  and  the  Semites. 
The  day  had  now  come  when  a  new  people  ,the 

1  His  inscriptions  are  published,  I  R.  2,  No.  iv,  and  translated  by 
Winckler,  Keilinschrift.  Bibl,  iii,  part  i,  p.  91, 

'  Inscriptions  of  this  are  published,  I  R.  5,  Xo.  xx  {Keilmschriji.  Bibl, 
iii,  part  i,  pp.  92,  93),  and  by  Delitzseh  in  Beitrage  zur  Axsyrlologie, 
pp.  301,  ff.  (see  also  Keilinschrift.  Bill.,  iii,  part  i,  pp.  90,  91). 


380     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Elamites,  must  enter  the  lists  for  the  posses- 
sion of  the  deeply  coveted  valley.  The  rulers  of 
Elam  appear  to  have  made  many  attempts  to  get 
a  hold  upon  parts  of  Babylonia.  One  of  them  was 
Eim-Anum/  who  actually  did  get  control  at  about 
this  time  of  some  parts  of  the  country,  and  was  re- 
ferred to  in  business  documents  as  Kim-Anum  the 
king.  As  no  historical  texts  have  come  down  to 
us  from  his  reign,  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  long  he 
ruled  or  what  influence  he  had  upon  the  country. 

To  this  same  period  of  Elamite  invasions  be- 
longs Kudur-Nankhundi,*  who  made  a  raid  into 
Babylonia  2285  B.  C,  reached  Erech  and  plun- 
dered its  temples,  carrying  away  into  captivit}'  a 
statue  of  the  goddess  Nana.  His  influence  upon 
the  land  was  apparently  very  slight,  for  apparently 
no  documents  exist  which  are  dated  in  his  period. 
It  is  probable  that  he  was  not  successful  in  estab- 
lishing any  dominion  over  the  country  at  all. 
But  his  failure  would  not  daunt  other  princes ;  the 
prize  was  great  and  men  would  not  fail  in  its  win- 
ning for  want  of  a  trial. 

Probably  soon  after  Kudur-Nankhundi  the  suc- 
cessful raid  was  made.  The  Babylonian  inscrip- 
tions have  preserved  for  us  no  mention  of  the 
king's    name   who   swept  down  into    the  valley 

'  For  business  documents  in  his  reign  comp.  Sayce,  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archceology,  xix,  p.  73,  and  Scheil  in  Recueil  de  Travanz 
relatifd  la  Phil,  et  archeol.  Egypt  et  Ass.,  xx,  pp.  64,  65.  Comp.  further 
Lehmann,  Zioei  Hauptprobleme,  p.  207. 

3  III  R.  38,  1  a.  12-18.  See  above,  p.  319.  The  name  appears  in  the 
form  Kudur-Nakhkhunte  in  old  Susian. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    381 

and  carried  all  before  him.  The  Hebrews  among 
their  traditions  preserved  the  name  of  Chedor- 
laomer'  (Kudur-Lagamar)  as  the  Elamite  who 
invaded  the  far  west.  To  him  or  to  other 
Elamite  invaders  the  weak  kingdom  of  Sumer  and 
Accad  was  able  to  offer  no  effectual  resistance, 
and  the  kings  of  Larsa  were  quickly  dispossessed. 
The  Elamites  in  a  few  short  years  had  swept  from 
east  to  west,  destroying  kingdoms  whose  founda- 
tions extended  into  the  distant  past.  Their  suc- 
cess reminds  one  of  the  career  of  the  Persians  in  a 
later  day. 

Under  the  rule  of  these  Elamite  conquerors 
Kudur-Mabuk '  was  prince  of  E-mutbal,  in  west- 
ern Elam.  His  authority  and  influence  were  ex- 
tended into  Babylonia,  and  perhaps  even  farther 
west.  He  built  in  Ur  a  temple  to  the  moon  god 
as  a  thank  offering  for  his  success. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Eri-Aku,'  who  was 
still  more  Babylonian  than  his  father.  He  ex- 
tended the  city  of  Ur,  rebuilding  its  great  city 
walls  "  like  unto  a  mountain,"  restored  its  temples, 
and  apparently  became  a  patron  of  that  city  rather 
than  of  Larsa,  though  he  still  calls  himself  king 

'  See  further  on  Chedorlaomer  below,  p.  390.  A  very  similar  view  of  the 
events  is  now  taken  by  Winckler  (in  Helmolt's  Weltgeschichte,  iii,  p.  96). 

'  An  inscription  of  Kudur-Marbuk  is  published  I  R.  2,  No.  iii,  Keilin- 
schri/t.  Bibi,  iii,  part  i,  pp.  92,  93. 

^  Inscriptions  of  Rim  Sin — that  is,  Eri-Aku — are  found  I  R.  5,  No.  xvi,  3, 
No.  X,  Mittheilungen  des  Akad- Orient- Verehis  zu  Berlin,  i,  p.  16,  and  are 
translated  by  Winckler,  Keilinschri/i.  Bib!.,  iii,  part  i,  pp.  94,  95.  On  the 
reading  of  the  name  as  Eri-Aku  see  Schrader  in  Sitzungsberichte  K.  Preuss. 
Ak.  Phil.-hist.  Classe,  24  Oct.,  1895,  xli. 


382     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

of  Larsa.  The  Elamite  people  were  now  become 
in  the  fullest  sense  masters  of  all  southern  Baby- 
lonia. Eri-Aku  calls  himself  "  exalter  of  Ur,  king 
of  Larsa,  king  of  Sumer  and  Accad,"  and  so 
claims  all  the  honors  which  had  belonged  to  the 
kings  of  native  stock  who  had  preceded  him.  This 
invasion  and  occupation  of  southern  Babylonia  by 
the  Elamites  prepared  the  way  for  the  conquest  of 
southern  Babylonia  by  the  north  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  permanent  order  of  things  in  the 
land  so  long  disturbed. 

With  Larsa  ends  the  series  of  small  states,  of 
whose  existence  we  have  caught  mere  glimpses, 
during  a  period  of  more  than  two  thousand  years. 
As  Maspero  has  well  said :  "  We  have  here  the 
mere  dust  of  history  rather  than  history  itself  ; 
here  an  isolated  individual  makes  his  appearance 
in  the  record  of  his  name,  to  vanish  when  we  at- 
tempt to  lay  hold  of  him  ;  there  the  stem  of  a  dy- 
nasty which  breaks  abruptly  off,  pompous  pream- 
bles, devout  formulas,  dedications  of  objects  or 
buildings,  here  or  there  the  account  of  some  bat- 
tle or  the  indication  of  some  foreign  country  with 
which  relations  of  friendship  or  commerce  were 
maintained — these  are  the  scanty  materials  out  of 
which  to  construct  a  connected  narrative."  But, 
though  we  have  only  names  of  kings  of  various 
cities  and  faint  indications  of  their  deeds,  we  are 
able,  nevertheless,  out  of  these  materials  to  secure 
in  some  measure  an  idea  of  the  development  of 
political  life  and  of  civilization  in  the  land. 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    383 

As  has  been  already  said,  the  civilization  of 
southern  Babylonia,  in  the  period  4000-2300  B.  C, 
was  at  the  foundation  Sumeriau.  But  during  a 
a  large  part  of  this  time  it  was  Sumerian  influenced 
by  Semitic  civilization.  The  northern  kingdom 
even  about  3800  B.  C.  was  Semitic.  Intercourse 
was  free  and  widely  extended,  as  the  inscriptions 
of  Sargon  and  Naram-Sin  and  the  operations  of 
Gudea  have  conclusively  shown.  The  Sumerian 
civilization  was  old,  and  the  seeds  of  death  were 
in  it;  the  Semitic  civilization,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  instinct  with  life  and  vigor.  The  Semite  had 
come  out  of  the  free  airs  of  the  desert  of  Arabia 
and  had  in  his  veins  a  bounding  life.  It  was  natu- 
ral that  his  vigorous  civilization  should  permeate  at 
first  slowly  and  then  rapidly  into  the  senile  cul- 
ture of  the  Sumerians.  The  Sumerian  inscriptions 
early  begin  to  give  evidence  of  Semitic  influence. 
Here  it  is  a  word  borrowed  from  the  Semitic 
neighbors,  there  it  is  a  name  of  man  or  god.  This 
influence  increased.  Towai'd  the  end  of  the  period 
the  Semitic  words  are  frequent,  the  Semitic  idiom 
is  in  a  fair  way  to  a  complete  peaceful  conquest, 
and  political  contest  w^ould  bring  about  the 
final  triumph  of  Semitism,  though  not  the  exter- 
mination of  Sumerian  influence.  It  remained  until 
the  very  end  of  Babylon  itself,  and  the  rise  of  the 
Indo-European  -world  powders.  The  conservatism 
of  religious  customs  gave  to  the  old  language  and 
the  old  literature,  now  become  sacred,  a  new  life. 
The  temples  still  bore  Sumerian  names  when  Baby- 


384     HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Ion's  last  conqueror  entered  the  magnificent 
gates. 

Concerning  the  political  development  we  know 
altogether  too  little  for  dogmatic  conclusions.  The 
whole  may  be  summed  up  in  the  following  manner: 
The  earliest  indications  show  us  the  city  as  the 
center  of  government.  The  chief  man  in  the  city 
is  its  king,  or,  if  there  be  no  title  of  king,  he  is 
called  patesi.  When  the  surrounding  country  is 
annexed  his  title  remains  the  same;  he  is  still 
king  of  the  city.  But  after  a  time  a  new  custom 
comes  into  vogue.  Ur-Ba'u  is  king  of  Ur,  but  he 
is  more,  he  is  also  king  of  Sumer  and  Accad.  By 
that  expression  we  are  introduced  to  the  conception 
of  a  government  which  controlled  not  only  segre- 
gated cities,  but  a  united  country,  northern  and 
southern  Babylonia.  The  position  of  the  capital 
was  indeed  fluctuating.  The  capital  depends  alto- 
gether on  the  king  and  his  place  of  origin.  The 
kingdom  has  its  governmental  center  in  Ur,  but 
Ur  is  not  its  permanent  capital.  The  capital  is 
later  found  in  Isin,  and  the  kings  of  Isin  are  then 
kings  of  Sumer  and  Accad  when  they  have  con- 
quered and  bear  rule  in  the  north  and  south.  This 
old  title  lives  on  through  the  centuries,  and  later 
kings  in  other  cities  are  proud  to  carry  it  on. 
their  inscriptions. 

This  union  of  all  Babylonia  under  one  king  was 
not  the  means  of  creating  a  national  unity  strong 
enough  to  resist  the  outside  invader.  Sumerian 
civilization  seemed  to  have  reached  the  end  of  its 


BABYLONIAN  HISTORY  TO  FALL  OF  LARSA.    385 

development  as  a  political  factor.  The  raids  of  the 
Elamites  scattered  and  broke  its  power,  and  the 
time  was  ready  for  a  man  strong  enough  to  con- 
quer the  petty  kings  of  Larsa,  take  the  title  of 
king  of  Sumer  and  Accad  and  make  a  strong 
kingdom. 


386     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  11. 

THE  FIRST  AND  SECOND  DYNASTIES  OF  BABYLON. 

The  origin  of  the  city  of  Babylon  is  veiled  in 
impenetrable  obscurity.  The  first  city  built  upon 
the  site  must  have  been  founded  fully  four  thou- 
sand years  before  Christ,  and  it  may  have  been 
much  earlier.  The  city  is  named  in  the  Omen 
tablet  of  Sargon,'  and,  though  this  is  no  proof  that 
the  city  was  actually  in  existence  about  3800  B.  C, 
it  does  prove  that  a  later  tradition  assigned  to  it 
this  great  antiquity.  At  this  early  date,  however, 
it  seems  not  to  have  been  a  city  of  importance. 
During  the  long  period  of  the  rise  of  the  kingdom 
of  Sumer  and  Accad  no  king  in  the  south  finds 
Babylon  worthy  of  mention,  though  Babylon  must 
have  been  developing  into  a  city  of  influence  dur- 
ing the  later  centuries  of  the  dominion  of  Isin  and 
Larsa.  From  about  2300  B.  C.  the  influence  of 
this  city  extends  almost  without  a  break  to  the 
period  of  the  Seleucides.  No  capital  in  the  world 
has  ever  been  the  center  of  so  much  power, 
wealth,  and  culture  for  a  period  so  vast.  It  is  in- 
deed a  brilliant  cycle  of  centuries  upon  which  we 
enter. 

The  name  of  the  first  king  of  Babylon  is  given 

'  IV  R.  34,  obverse  1.  8.     Keilhischrift.  Bibl,  iii,  part  i,  pp.    102,  108. 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  DYNASTIES.  387 

in  the  Babyloniau  King  Lists  as  Sumii-abi  (about 
2454-2440  B.  C.),'  of  whom  we  kno^Y  nothing. 
We  have  likeAvise  no  historical  inscriptions  of  his 
immediate  successors,  and  our  only  knowledge  of 
their  reigns  is  to  be  obtained  from  the  fragmen- 
tary notes  of  contract  tablets,  which  sometimes 
give  indications  of  the  life  of  the  people.  From 
the  inscriptions  of  later  kings  we  also  get  word  of 
some  building  operations  of  two  of  them.  These 
kings  are  Sumu-la-ilu  (about  2439-2405  B.  C), 
w^ho  built  six  strong  fortresses  in  Babylon,  and 
Zabu  (about  2404-2391  B.  C),  who  erected  in 
Sippar  of  Anunit  the  temple  of  Edubar  to  the 
city's  deity.  After  Zabu  there  was  apparently  an 
attempted  revolution,  for  we  get  hints  that  a  cer- 
tain Immeru''  attempted  to  ascend  the  throne. 
His  name  does  not  appear  on  the  King  List,  and 
it  is  probable  that  he  was  not  able  to  gain  a  se- 
cure position  in  the  kingdom. 

The  next  rulers  are  Apil-Sin  (about  2390-2373 

•  The  dates  which  are  set  down  with  the  names  of  the  kings  of  this 
dynasty  must  in  all  cases  be  taken  as  approximate  only  and  as  subject  to 
the  greatest  doubt.  They  rest  in  all  cases  upon  the  original  sources,  but  these 
sources  contain  numerous  contradictions  and  discrepancies,  and  it  is  idle 
to  attempt  to  make  from  them  a  chronology  that  may  lay  any  claim  to  ac- 
curacy.    See  above,  p.  338. 

2  The  name  Immeru  occurs  on  a  number  of  contract  tablets,  but  without 
being  called  king.  Events  are,  however,  dated  by  his  name,  just  as 
though  he  were  king.  (See  Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  alibah.  Privatrecht, 
Leipzig,  1893,  Xos.  10  and  38  ;  Peiser,  KeiUmchrift.  Bibl,  iv,  pp.  8,  9.)  His 
exact  position  is  difficult  to  fix.  He  is  located  after  Zabu  by  Meissner 
{pp.  cit.,  p.  4),  and  this  has  found  considerable  acceptance  (so  Lehmann, 
Zwei  Jimiptprob.,  p.  31,  and  King,  art,  "Babylonia"  in  Cheyne  &  Black, 
E71C.  Biblica.).  Sayce,  however,  says  he  was  a  contemporary  of  Sumu-la-ilu, 
and  perhaps  ...  a  vassal  king  of  Larsa  {Early  Israel  and  the  Surrowid- 
ing  Nations,  London,  1899,  p.  281). 


388     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

B.  C.)  and  Sin-muballit  (about  2372-2343  B.  C), 
whose  reigns  are  likewise  unknown  to  us. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  in  the  large  num- 
bers of  business  documents  which  have  come 
down  to  us  out  of  the  period  of  this  first  dynasty 
of  Babylon,  none  of  these  rulers  down  to  Apil-Sin 
is  called  king  and  Sin-muballit  only  in  the  form  of 
a  passing  allusion  in  one  single  tablet.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  explain  this  fact  unless  we  accept  the  view 
that  the  real  kingdom  of  Babylon  did  not  begin 
until  Hammurabi  had  driven  out  the  Elamites  and 
so  won  for  himself  the  title  borne  by  the  old  kings 
of  Ur,  Isin,  and  Larsa. 

The  son  and  successor  of  Sin-muballit  was  Ham- 
murabi (about  2342-2288  B.  C),  with  whom  be- 
gins a  new  era.  It  is  the  chief  glory  of  his  name 
that  he  made  a  united  Babylonia,  and  that  the 
union  w^hich  he  cemented  remained  until  the  scep- 
ter passed  from  Semitic  hands  to  another  race. 
In  this  he  far  exceeded  the  success  of  Sargon  and 
Lugalzaggisi,  whose  empires  were  of  but  short 
duration.  Yet  he  had  even  greater  difficulties  to 
meet  than  they.  The  Elamites  were  firmly  fas- 
tened in  the  country,  and  would  hardly  give  it  up 
without  a  struggle.  The  activity  displayed  by 
these  Elamite  princes  in  building  was  an  indica- 
tion of  how  much  they  valued  their  new  posses- 
sions. We  are  not  yet  in  possession  of  facts  enough 
to  enable  us  to  follow  the  movements  of  Ham- 
murabi in  his  conquest  of  the  country.  The 
struggle  was  probably  brief  and  without  distinction. 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  DYNASTIES.  389 

The  people  of  the  kingdom  of  Sumer  and 
Accad  had  no  genuine  national  life,  no  divine 
patriotism.  When  one  king  passed  they  cared 
not,  and  as  willingly  paid  taxes  to  another,  if  only 
he  made  them  no  heavier.  The  Elamites  were 
soon  driven  out  of  Babylonia,  and  Hammurabi 
assumed  the  titles  of  king  of  Sumer  and  Accad, 
king  of  the  Four  Quarters  of  the  World,  as  well 
as  the  old  title,  king  of  Babylon.  The  ready  ac- 
quiescence of  the  people  in  the  new  rule  of  Ham- 
murabi and  the  new  leadership  of  the  city  of  Baby- 
lon is  shown  conclusively  by  the  entire  absence  of 
any  uprising  or  of  any  attempt  to  throw  off  the 
yoke.  The  time  was  ripe  for  the  overturning  of  the 
old  Sumerian  state,  and  in  Hammurabi  was  found 
the  man  for  the  new  era.  The  manner  of  the  con- 
quest is  unknown  to  us,  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
the  fact  we  must  rest  content. 

We  know  very  little  about  the  government  of 
the  country  which  Hammurabi  had  thus  organized 
into  a  consolidated  kingdom  or  empire.  That  he 
had  petty  princes  or  viceroys  under  him  is  made 
clear  by  sundry  letters  and  dispatches  to  such  offi- 
cials which  have  come  down  to  us.'  But  it  is  still 
impossible  so  to  order  these  little  fragments  as  to 
gain  complete  or  satisfying  pictures  of  his  relation 
to  them.  If  Hammurabi  be  the  same  person  as 
Amraphel,  who  is  mentioned  in  the  Hebrew  tradi- 
tions (Gen.  xiv),  and  many  suppose,  wdth  consid- 

'  See  Tlie  Letters  and  Inscinptions  of  Hammurabi,  by  L.  W.  King,  M.A., 
three  volumes,  London,  189S.  ff. 


390     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

erable  reason,  that  lie  is,'  we  have  there  evidence 
that  he  was  deemed  in  a  later  period  to  have  had 
a  considerable  body  of  allies  with  whom  he  was 
associated  in  campaigns  in  the  west.  Of  these 
who  are  thus  mentioned  Chedorlaomer  has  not  yet 
been  identified  on  any  Babylonian  inscription  of 
an  early  date,  though  the  name  may  well  corre- 
spond with  a  form  Kudur-lagamar,'  for  both  parts 
of  which  there  is  ample  support.  On  an  inscrip- 
tion of  late  date  (about  300  B.  C.)  a  name  has  been 
found  which,  whether  it  be  read  Kudur-nuchgamar, 
or  Kudur-lugkgamai',  or  what  not,  almost  certainly 

'  See,  for  example,  Hommel  {The  Ancient  Hebrew  Tradition^  London, 
1897,  p.  193,  and  elsewhere),  Sayce  {Early  Israel,  p.  213).  Driver  {Author- 
ity a7id  Archaology,  p.  39)  says,  "  There  is  little  doubt  "  that  Amraphel  "  is 
a  corrupt  representation  of  Khanimurabi."  But  the  name  can  scarcely  be 
called  "  corrupt "  in  view  of  the  form  Ammu-rabi.  Comp.  Zimmern,  TJieol- 
ogische  Rrmdschau,  i,  p.  821. 

"^  Kudur  appears  frequently  in  these  Elamite  names.  Lagamar  occurs  as 
the  name  of  an  Elamite  deity  in  an  Assyrian  text  (V  R.  vi,  col.  6,  33),  and 
also  in  the  inscriptions  of  Anzan-Shushinak  (F.  H.  Weissbach,  Anzanische 
Inschriften,  Abh.  d.  phil.  hist.  Classe.  der  k.  SdcJis.  Ges.  d.  Wissenschaflen, 
xii,  p.  125.  Leipzig,  1891).  Unfortunately  a  sharp  controversy  has  oc- 
curred over  the  name  Chedorlaomer  which  was  thought  to  appear  in  some 
texts  of  the  period  of  the  Arsacidae  (see  Pinches,  Journal  of  the  Transac- 
tio7is  of  the  Victoria  Institute,  xxix,  1897,  pp.  56,  ff.),  and  Father  Scheil 
thought  that  he  also  had  found  the  name  in  early  tablets  {Revue  Biblique, 
V,  October,  1896,  pp.  600,  f. ;  Recneil  de  Travaux  rehtif  .  .  .  Egypt,  et  Ass.y 
xix,  4,  fif.).  In  the  latter  case  King  {Letters  mid  Inscriptions  of  Hammu- 
rabi, London,  1898,  p.  xxix)  has  shown  conclusively  that  the  text  was 
misread  by  Scheil  and  that  the  name  Chedorlaomer  does  not  occur  on  it. 
He  has  further  demonstrated  that  the  reading  of  Mr.  Pinches  is  very 
doubtful.  Keen  and  successful  though  his  criticism  is,  it  can  hardly  be 
denied  that  beneath  all  the  obscurity  there  lies  a  real  reference  to  the  Che- 
dorlaomer of  Gen.  xiv.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  view  of  Zimmern  ( Theolo- 
gische  Rundschau,  i,  pp.  320,  321)  and  Driver  {Authority  and  Archceology, 
pp.  42,  43).  See,  for  a  learned  discussion  of  the  whole  matter,  the  article 
"  Chedorlaomer,"  by  Thiele  and  Kosters,  in  Encyclopedia  Bihlica  (ed.  Cheyne 
&  Black),  i,  cols.  732-734. 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  DYNASTIES.  oi)l 

represents  Chedorlaomer.  The  name  of  Ticlal, 
king  of  Goiim,  has  not  yet  been  certainly  identi- 
fied ;  but  in  this  same  inscription  a  certain  "  Tud. 
chula,  son  of  Gazza,"  appears  to  be  mentioned,  who 
possibly  represents  Tidal.'  Arioch,  king  of  Ella- 
sar,  is  certainly  to  be  identified  with  Eri-Aku,  son 
of  Kudur-Mabuk,  the  well-known  king  of  Larsa. 
The  narrative  of  their  campaigns  in  the  west  ac- 
cords well  with  what  we  know  of  the  general  situ- 
ation, but  forms  only  an  episode  in  Babylonian 
history,  and  cannot  now  be  satisfactorily  related  to 
the  general  movements  of  the  time. 

As  soon  as  the  conquest  of  Sumer  and  Accad 
was  completed  Hammurabi  showed  himself  the 
statesman  even  more  than  the  soldier.  He  dis- 
played extraordinary  care  in  the  development  of 
the  resources  of  the  land,  and  in  thus  increasing 
the  wealth  and  comfort  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
chiefest  of  his  great  works  is  best  described  in  his 
own  ringing  words — the  words  of  a  conqueror,  a 
statesman,  and  a  patriot :  "  Hammurabi,  the  power- 
ful king,  king  of  Babylon,  .  .  .  when  Anu  and 
Bel  gave  unto  me  to  rule  the  land  of  Sumer  and 
Accad,  and  with  their  scepter  filled  my  hands,  I 
dug  the  canal  Hammurabi,  the  Blessing-of-Men, 
which  bringeth  the  water  of  the  overflow  unto  the 
land  of  Sumer  and  Accad.  Its  banks  upon  both 
sides  I  made  arable  land ;  much  seed  I  scattered 
upon  it.  Lasting  water  I  provided  for  the  land  of 
Sumer  and  Accad.     The  land  of  Sumer  and  Ac- 

'  See  Pinches,  King,  and  Driver,  as  above  cited,  on  Chedorlaomer. 


392     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

cad,  its  separated  peoples  I  united,  with  blessings 
and  abundance  I  endowed  them,  in  peaceful  dwell- 
ings I  made  them  to  live."'  This  was  no  idle 
promise  made  to  the  people  before  the  union  of 
Sumer  and  Accad  under  the  hegemony  of  Baby- 
lon, but  the  actual  accomplishment  of  a  man  who 
knew  how  to  knit  to  himself  and  his  royal  house 
the  hearts  of  the  people  of  a  conquered  land. 
There  is  a  world  of  wisdom  in  the  deeds  of  this 
old  king.  No  work  could  possibly  have  been  per- 
formed by  him  which  would  bring  greater  bless- 
ing than  the  building  of  a  canal  by  which  a  nearly 
rainless  land  could  be  supplied  with  abundant 
water.  After  making  the  canal,  Hammurabi  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  his  predecessors  in  Baby- 
lonia and  carried  out  extensive  building  operations 
in  various  parts  of  the  land.  On  all  sides  we  find 
evidences  of  his  efforts  in  this  work.  In  Babylon 
itself  he  erected  a  great  granary  for  the  storing  of 
wheat  against  times  of  famine — a  work  of  mercy 
as  well  as  of  necessity,  which  would  find  prompt 
recognition  among  oriental  peoples  then  as  now. 
The  temples  to  the  sun  god  in  Larsa  and  in  Sippar 
were  rebuilt  by  him ;  the  walls  of  the  latter  city 
were  reconstructed  "  like  a  great  mountain  " — to 
use  his  own  phrase — and  the  city  was  enriched  by 
the  construction  of  a  new  canal.  The  great  tem- 
ples of  E-sagila  in  Babylon  and  E-zida  in  the  neigh- 

'  The  Louvre  Inscription  Col.  I  l-II  10.  See,  for  full  references  to  the 
original  texts,  Jensen  in  Keilinschrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  part  i,  p,  123,  and  comp. 
also  translation  bv  Winckler  {Geschichte,  p.  64). 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  DYNASTIES.  393 

boring  Borsij)pa  showed  in  increased  size  and  in 
beauty  the  influence  of  his  labors.  There  is  evi- 
dence, also,  that  he  built  for  himself  a  palace  at  the 
site  now  marked  by  the  ruin  of  Kalwadha,  near 
Baghdad. 

But  these  buildings  are  only  external  evidences 
of  the  great  work  wrought  in  this  long  reign  for 
civilization.  The  best  of  the  culture  of  the  an- 
cient Sumerians  was  brought  into  Babylon,  and 
there  carefully  conserved.  What  this  meant  to 
the  centuries  that  came  after  is  shown  clearly  in 
the  later  inscriptions.  To  Babylon  the  later  kings 
of  Assyria  look  constantly  as  to  the  real  center  of 
culture  and  civilization.  No  Assyrian  king  is 
content  with  Nineveh  and  its  glories,  great  though 
these  were  in  later  days ;  his  greatest  glory 
came  when  he  could  call  himself  king  of  Babylon, 
and  perform  the  symbolic  act  of  taking  hold  of 
the  hands  of  Bel-Marduk.  Nineveh  was  the 
center  of  a  kingdom  of  warriors,  Babylon  the 
abode  of  scholars ;  and  the  wellspring  of  all  this 
is  to  be  found  in  the  work  of  Hammurabi. 

But  if  the  kings  of  Assyria  looked  to  Babylon 
with  longing  eyes,  yet  more  did  later  kings  in 
the  city  of  Babylon  itself  look  back  to  the  days 
of  Hammurabi  as  the  golden  age  of  their  history. 
Nabopolassar  and  Nebuchadrezzar  acknowledged 
his  position  in  the  most  flattering  way,  for  they 
imitated  in  their  inscriptions  the  very  words  and 
phrases  in  which  he  had  described  his  building, 
and,  not  satisfied  with  this,  even  copied  the  exact 


394     HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

form  of  his  tablets  and  tlie  style  of  tlieii-  writing. 
In  building  his  plans  were  followed,  and  in  rule 
and  administration  his  methods  were  imitated. 
His  works  and  his  words  entitle  him  to  rank  as 
the  real  founder  of  Babylon.*  Hammurabi  reigned 
fifty-five  years  according  to  the  King  Lists,  but 
forty-three  years  according  to  a  native  document 
which  comes  to  us  from  his  own  dynasty. 

When  the  long  reign  was  ended  the  son  of 
Hammurabi  entered  into  his  father's  laboi^.  Sam- 
su-iluna  (about  2287-2253)  seems  to  have  followed 
closely  in  the  footsteps  of  Hammurabi.  He  tells 
us  of  building  in  Nippur  and  in  other  cities — some 
of  them  still  unknown  to  us — of  increasing  the 
size  of  Babylon  itself,  and  of  continuing  the  works 
upon  canals."  The  profound  peace  which  Ham- 
murabi achieved  by  arms  continues  through  his 
reign  and  into  the  reigns  of  his  successors.  We 
have  no  historical  inscriptions,  for  the  records  which 
have  come  down  from  their  reigns  are  the  so- 
called  contract  or  business  tablets,  from  which  no 
connected  story  has  yet  been  made  out.  From 
them  we  learn  of  the  high  civilization  of  the  coun- 
try and  of  its  continued  prosperity.  The  names 
of  these  kings,  with  their  approximate  dates,  can 
only  be  set  down  until  some  future  discovery  re- 
veals records  with  a  historical  meaning. 


'  See  Winckler,  Geschichte,  pp.  63,  64. 

"  The  text  of  Samsu-iluna  here  referred  to  is  published  by  Winckler  ( Uh- 
tersuchungen,  p.  140)  and  translated  by  him,  KeilhiscJirift.  Bill.,  iii,  part  i, 
pp.  131,  ff. 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  DYNASTIES.  395 

Abeshu'  (Ebishum),  about 2252-2228  B.  C. 

Ammisatana,  about 2227-2203  B.  C. 

Ammisadugga,  about 2202-2182  B.  C. 

Samsusatana,  about 2181-2115  B.  C. 

The  names  of  the  kings  of  this  dynasty  are  very 
peculiar  when  one  thinks  that  they  are  set  down 
as  native  rulers  over  the  city  of  Babylon.  The 
origin  of  Zabu  and  its  meaning  are  very  doubtful, 
Apil-Sin  and  Sin-muballit  are  good  Babylonian 
names,  but  the  other  eight  are  most  certainly  not 
Babylonian  at  all.  This  at  once  raises  the  ques- 
tion as  to  the  nationality  or  race  of  these  kings. 
The  names  would  seem  to  suggest  that  the  men 
who  bore  them  were  not  Babylonian,  but  had 
come  from  some  other  branch  of  the  great  Semitic 
family.  This  seems  now  to  be  quite  probable. 
Their  names  are  for  the  most  part  to  be  connected 
with  the  Canaanite  branch  of  the  Semitic  family, 
and  it  seems  probable  that  they  owe  their  origin 
to  an  invasion  of  Babylonia  by  the  same  race  that 
peopled  the  highlands  of  Canaan.  How  and  when 
they  settled  in  Babylon  remains  obscure. 

According  to  the  King  Lists  this  dynasty  was 
followed  immediately  by  the  second  dynasty, 
which  in  all  things  must  have  been  very  like  its 
predecessor.  It  is  called  the  dynasty  of  Uru- 
Azag,'  and  it  has  been  conjectured  that  this  re- 
fers to  a  district  of  the  city  of  Babylon.     This 

'  Winckler  reads  Uru-azagga  and  supposes  this  to  be  a  part  of  the  city 
of  Babylon  (Geschickte,  pp.  67,  68,  328).  See  on  this  Hilprecht's  criticism 
(Assyriaca,  pp.  25-27,  103),  who  reads  simply  Shish-khu  and  believes  in  the 
nou-Semitic  origin  of  the  dynasty.     To  this  Winckler  replies  in  Altorkn- 


396     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

would  make  this  dynasty  consist  of  native  princes, 
who  had  originated  in  a  separate  part  of  the  city, 
by  which  they  are  named.  The  names  of  these 
kings  and  the  length  of  their  reigns  are  here  given : 

1.  An-ma-an,  about 2150-2091  (60) 

2.  Ki-an-ni-bi 2090-2035  (56) 

3.  Dam-ki-ilu-shu 2034-2009  (26)  ' 

4.  Ish-ki-bal 2008-1994  (15) 

5.  Shu-ush-shi 1993-1970  (24) 

6.  Gul-ki-sliar  (?  kur) 1969-1915  (55) 

v.  Kir-gal-dara-bar 1914-1865  (50) 

8.  A-dara-kalama 1864-1837     (28) 

9.  A-kur-ul-an-na 1836-1811     (26) 

10.  Me-lam-kur-kur-ra 1810-1803       (8) 

1 1.  Ea-ga-mil 1802-1783     (20) 

368  years. 

We  owe  this  list  of  kings  and  the  length  of  each 
reign  to  the  Babylonian  historians.'  It  is  certainly 
a  surprising  list  of  years  of  reign.  As  our  confi- 
dence in  the  length  of  reigns  given  to  kings  in  the 
first  dynasty  has  been  somewhat  shaken  by  the 
discovery  of  the  Babylonian  Chronicle,  in  which 
Hammurabi  receives  forty-three  years  instead  of 
fifty-five  years,  we  may  feel  a  reasonable  doubt  as 
to  the  accuracy  of  these  long  reigns.  No  inscrip- 
tions of  any  of  these  kings  have  yet  been  found, 

talische  Forschungen,  vol.  i,  pp.  275-277.  Sayce  has  supposed  tJruazagga 
to  be  represented  by  "  a  part  of  the  mounds  of  Telle  or  its  immediate  vicin- 
ity "  {Records  of  the  Past,  new  series,  i,  p.  13),  but  later  reads  Sisku 
(Early  Israel,  p.  281.)  Hommel  has  attempted  to  connect  the  first  king  of 
his  dynasty  with  Prince  An-a-an  of  Erech  {Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Biblical  Archaeology,  xvi,  pp.  13-15),  but  without  success  (see  Hilprecht, 
Assyriaca,  pp.  101,  ff.). 

'  See  further  above  on  the  Chronology,  p.  339. 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  DYNASTIES.  397 

and  no  business  documents  dated  in  their  reigns 
have  come  to  light.  It  is  not  therefore  to  be  ar- 
gued that  the  kings  had  no  existence.  Inscriptions 
of  theirs  may  readily  be  supposed  to  be  still  in  ex- 
istence in  the  vast  stores  yet  unearthed,  or  reasons 
may  easily  be  found  for  supposing  that  a  system- 
atic effort  had  been  made  to  destroy  all  their  rec- 
ords. It  has  been  supposed  that  during,  perhaps, 
the  latter  part  of  this  term  the  disturbances  and 
movements  began  which  resulted  in  the  removal 
of  all  rule  from  the  hands  of  the  Babylo- 
nians and  the  transfer  of  it  to  invaders  from  the 
Kassite  country.  However  that  may  be,  a  long 
period  elapsed  from  the  days  of  Hammurabi 
until  the  passing  of  power  into  the  hands  of  for- 
eigners. Hammurabi  had  indeed  builded  well. 
North  and  south  together  acknowledged  the  do- 
minion of  his  successors.  Peace  at  home  and 
abroad  gave  leisure  for  the  pursuit  of  litera- 
ture, art,  and  science.  This  great  silent  period 
gives  the  necessary  time  for  the  progress  in  all 
these  things,  which  is  evidenced  by  the  works  no 
less  than  the  words  of  the  following  centuries. 
From  the  peace  and  stability  which  his  genius 
achieved  we  must  now  turn  to  the  turmoil  which 
ensued  when  his  influence  was  finally  overcome. 
Yet  it  was  overcome  in  part  only;  the  city  of 
Babylon,  which  he  had  made  great,  so  continued. 
Its  supremacy  there  was  none  to  question.  It  was 
only  the  constant  effort  of  men  to  possess  it  and 
all  that  its  traditions  covered  and  contained. 


398     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   KASSITE    DYNASTY. 

At  about  the  year  1783  ends  the  long  period  of 
stable  peace,  during  which  Babylonia  was  ruled 
by  kings  of  native  blood.  This  land  of  great  fer- 
tility had  tempted  often  enough  the  hardy  moun- 
taineers of  Elam,  even  as  in  later  centuries  the 
fair  plains  of  northern  Italy  were  coveted  by  the 
Teutons,  who  surveyed  them  from  the  mountains 
above.  As  long  as  the  influence  of  Hammurabi 
and  the  other  founders  of  the  united  kingdom  of 
Babylonia  remained  the  country  was  able  to  defy 
any  invader.  But  the  development  of  the  arts, 
the  progress  of  civilization,  and  the  increase  of 
trade  and  commerce  had  weakened  the  military 
arm.  Babylon  was  becoming  like  Tyre  of  later 
days,  whose  merchants  were  always  willing  to 
pay  tribute  to  a  foreign  foe  rather  than  run  the 
I'isk  of  a  war  which  might  injure  their  trade.  At 
this  time,  however,  Babylon  still  possessed  patriot- 
ism and  national  pride,  and  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  the  foreigner  seated  himself  upon  the 
proud  throne  of  the  Babylonians  without  diffi- 
culty. It  is  indeed  unlikely  that  the  conquest  of 
Babylon  was  achieved  by  a  definitely  organized 
army,  led  by  a  commander  who  purposed  making 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  399 

himself  king  of  Babylon,  while  still  continuing  to 
reign  in  his  own  country.  It  is  rather  the  migra- 
tion of  a  strong,  fresh  people  which  here  con- 
fronts us.  This  people  is  called  the  Kasshu,  and 
their  previous  seat  was  in  Elam,  but  it  is  difficult 
to  localize  them  more  perfectly.  It  seems  proba- 
ble that  they  stood  in  some  relation  to  the  people 
dwelling  along  the  banks  of  the  Zagros,  who  be- 
came famous  in  later  times  under  the  name  of  the 
Kossaeans '  (KoaaaXoL)^  and  it  has  even  been  suggest- 
ed that  they  are,  in  some  way,  to  be  connected 
with  another  people,  the  Kissians  {YiioaLot)^  who 
were  at  one  time  settled  in  the  country  of  Susiana,* 
but  are  also  believed  to  be  mentioned  in  Cappado- 
cia.'  In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  we 
are  not  justified  in  identifying  them   positively 


'  Delitzsch  believes  that  these  are  all  one  people  {Die  Sprache  der  Kos- 
sder,  p.  4).  But  see  for  reasons  to  the  contrary  Oppert  {Zeitschrift  fur 
Assyrioloffie,  iii,  pp.  421,  ff.,  and  v,  pp.  106,  f.)  and  also  Lehmann  (J6/c?.,  vii, 
pp.  328,  ff. ;  Zeitschrift  der  Deutsche  Morgeiddndische  Gesell.,  1895,  p.  306 ; 
Zwei  Eauptprobl.,  pp.  211,  212).  Lehmann  identifies  the  Kasshu  with  the 
Kissians,  and  against  this  view  may  be  quoted  Rost,  Utiiersuchungen,  pp.  43, 
44.  The  name  Kassite,  which  we  have  here  adopted,  is  colorless  and  leaves 
the  question  undecided  until  more  light  has  been  obtained.  It  was  proposed 
by  Sayce  {Records  of  the  Past,  new  series  i,  p.  16),  but  he,  nevertheless, 
identifies  them  with  the  Kossaeans  {ibid.,  note  7).  Kassite  is  now  in  gen- 
eral use  (for  example,  by  Winckler,  Geschichte,  pp.  78,  79,  and  Hilprecht 
(Cassite),  Old  Bab.  Jyis.,  vol.  i,  part  i,  p.  28  ;  McCurdy  (Kasshites),  Histonj, 
Prophecy,  and  the  Monuments,  i,  p.  143). 

^  Myovrai  6e  Kal  Kiaacoc  ol  'Sovmoi.  Strabo,  Geographica,  xv,  2  (ed. 
Augustus  Meineke,  vol.  iii,  p.  1014).  Sennacherib  (Taylor  Cylinder,  col.  i, 
line  64,  tr.  by  Rogers  in  Records  of  the  Past,  new  series,  vi,  p.  86)  found 
the  Kashshi  in  the  Kossaean  mountains.  Corap.  Billerbeck,  Das  Sand- 
schak  Suleimania,  Leipzig,  1898,  p.  126,  who  locates  them  in  the  ^^  Luti- 
Bagische  Bergland." 

^  Ptolemaeus,  v,  6,  6,  quoted  by  Rost,  JJutersuclmnge^i,  p.  44. 


400     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

with  either  or  both  of  these  peoples.  It  will  be 
safer  simply  to  call  them  Kassites,  and  thus  leave 
their  racial  affinity  an  open  question.  Certain  in- 
dications there  are  which  seem  to  show  that  they 
did  not  come  direct  from  their  ancient  home  into 
Babylonia,  but  were  settled  first  in  the  far  south, 
near  the  Persian  Gulf  They  entered  Babylon 
probably  as  roving  bands,  then  in  increased  num- 
bers overran  the  land  and  gained  control,  so  that 
they  set  up  a  foreign  dynasty  in  place  of  the  pre- 
vious native  Babylonian  rule. 

Concerning  this  Kassite  dynasty  our  knowledge 
is  very  unsatisfactory.  The  Babylonian  historians 
preserved  in  their  King  Lists  the  names  of  all  these 
kings,  but  unhappily  this  list,  in  the  form  in  which 
we  possess  it,  is  badly  broken  and  many  of  the 
names  are  lost.  The  list  assigns  to  this  dynasty 
five  hundred  and  seventy-six  yeai's  and  nine 
months.*  On  this  representation  the  Kassites 
must  have  ruled  from  about  1782  B.  C.  to  about 
1207  B.  C.  During  this  long  period  the  Kassites 
naturally  did  not  remain  foreigners,  but  were  rap- 
idly assimilated  to  Babylonian  culture  as  well 
as  to  Babylonian  usages.  They  naturally  wrote 
inscriptions,  as  their  predecessors  had  done;  they 
built  buildings  and  worshiped  the  Babylonian 
gods.  But  their  rule  did  not  bring  forth  so 
rich  a  fruit  as  Hammurabi's  had  done,  and  the 
records  that  have  come  down  to  us  are  much 
more  fragmentary.      Of  only  one   king   in    this 

'  See  above  pp.  340-342. 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  401 

dynasty  do  we  possess  any  long  historical  inscrip- 
tion, and  his  name  does  not  appear  upon  the 
King  List,  but  stood  where  the  list  is  broken  be- 
yond hope  of  restoration.  The  correspondence  of 
some  of  the  kings  with  kings  of  Egypt  has  been 
preserved,  and  by  it  a  most  welcome  light  is  shed 
upon  the  obscure  peiiod.  AVe  possess  only  con- 
tract tablets  of  other  kings,  the  number  of  which 
will  be  largely  increased  by  the  publication  of 
tablets  that  have  been  found  at  Nippur. 

The  names  of  the  first  kings  in  the  list  are : 

Length 
of  Reign. 

1.  Gandish ' Perhaps  about  1782-1767  B.  C.  16 

2.  Agum-shi "  "      1766-1745  B.  C.  22 

3.  Bibeiashi' "  "      1744-1723  B.  C.  22 

4.  Dushi' «  "      1722-1714B.  C.  (9)(19?) 

5.  Adumetash'....       "  "      1713- 

6.  Tashziorurumash.* 

>  The  name  of  this  king  is  also  abbreviated  into  Gande  (Hilprecht,  Old 
Bab.  Jns.,'i,  parti,  pp.  28,  ff.),  and  even  into  Gan  {ibid.,j>.  30).  It  also 
appears  in  the  form  Gaddash  on  an  inscription  published  by  Pinches  (Baby- 
Ionian  and  Oriental  Becord,  i,  pp.  54,  78;  comp.  Academy,  1891,  p.  221). 
The  inscription  is  in  the  British  Museum  (84-2-11,  178),  and  is  published 
by  Winckler  {Untersuchungeii,  p.  156,  No.  6).  Also  Hilprecht,  Zeltschrift 
fiir  Assyriologie,  vii,  p  309,  note  4,  and  Old  Bab.  Ins.,  i,  part  i,  p.  30,  n.  3. 

^  This  name  is  written  Guyashi  by  Pinches  and  Winckler,  Delitzsch  dis- 
covered another  sign  before  the  GU  {Assyriologische  Miscellen,  Sonderab- 
druck  aus  den  Berichten  der  phil-his.  classe  der  K.  Sachs  Gesell.  der  Wiss. 
Sitzung  vom  8  Juli,  1893,  p.  184).  Knudtzon  reads  Bibeiashi,  and  avers 
that  the  reading  is  certain  after  a  new  collation  (see  Lehmarm,  Zwei  Haupt- 
jarob.,  p.  19). 

2  The  reading  of  the  name  is  doubtful.  It  is  sometimes  read  TJsh-shi. 
Knudtzon  {Assyrische  Gebete,  i,  p.  60)  reads  Du ;  while  Delitzsch  suggests 
that  it  may  be  AD.     Rost  ( Untersuchnngen,  p.  24)  reads  Abu  (?)  makhru. 

*  Reading  doubtful.  Delitzsch  and  Winckler  read  Adumetash,  and  so  also 
Lehmann.     Rost  is  doubtful  and  suggests  a  comparison  with  Attametu. 

'Reading  doubtful,  though  the  signs  are  reasonably  clear.  Winckler 
reads  Tash-shi-gurumash,  because  in  the  text  of  Agumkakrime  the  latter 


402     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

To  US  these  names  convey  no  real  meaning. 
They  are  only  shadows  of  men.  The  name  of  the 
first  king  also  appears  in  a  votive  tablet  under  the 
form  Gande,  and  in  still  another  little  fragment  as 
Gaddash.  He  gives  honor  to  the  great  god  Bel, 
and  wrote  his  name  and  titles  on  the  door  sockets 
set  up  by  former  Babylonian  kings.  But  his 
name  is  not  written  in  the  same  skillful  manner 
as  of  former  worthies.  The  rude  workmanship 
is  eloquent  of  the  change  which  had  come  through 
a  ruder  race.  The  world's  progress  was  put  back 
when  the  Kassites  come  to  rule  in  Babylon. 

But,  though  we  know  so  little  about  this  king 
Gandish,  we  know  even  less  about  his  followers  for 
a  long  time.  These  six  kings  fill  a  blank  space 
in  the  history  which  had  been  all  aglow  with  life 
and  color  in  the  days  of  the  first  dynasty. 

After  the  sixth  name  the  Babylonian  King  List 
is  hopelessly  broken,  and  no  names  can  be  read  for 
a  considerable  space.  It  seems  probable  that  Tash- 
zi-gurumash  may  be  the  same  as  the  king  from 
whom  Agum-kakrime  claims  descent.  If  this  be 
true,  we  may  have  found  by  this  means  the  name 
of  the  next  king  on  the  list.  There  belonged  to 
the  library  of  Asshurbanapal  a  long  inscription '  in 

calls  himself  a  son  of  Tash-shi-gurumash,  a  name  so  like  this  that  they 
may,  without  violence,  be  thought  the  same  (Delitzsch,  Assyriologische 
Miscellen,  p.  185). 

'  This  text  was  first  published  II  R.  38,  No.  2,  and  repeated  in  more  per- 
fect form  V  R.  33.  It  was  collated  by  Delitzsch  and  then  translated  in 
Kossaer,  pp.  55,  ff.  It  was  again  collated  by  Bezold  and,  upon  his  contri. 
butions,  translated  by  Jensen  {Keilinschrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  part  i,  pp.  134,  ff.). 
For  further  literature  see  Bezold  {Veberblick,  p.  57). 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  403 

Assyrian  characters  which  purports  to  be  a  copy 
of  an  inscription  of  an  earl}^  king  of  Babylon.  Cer- 
tain peculiarities  of  the  Assyrian  text  make  it 
much  more  probable  that  it  is  a  translation  from 
Sumerian.'  The  king  whose  deeds  it  recounts  was 
Agum-kakrime.  In  this  text  he  calls  himself  the 
son  of  Tashshigurumash.  It  is  very  tempting  to 
connect  this  Tashshigurumash  with  the  sixth  name 
in  the  list  of  kings,  and  this  is  now  generally  done. 
It  is  probably  right,  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that 
it  is  still  somewhat  doubtful.  If  Agum-kakrime 
were  really  the  son  of  King  Tashshigurumash,  it  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  with  his  father's  name  in 
his  inscription  would  stand  the  title  of  king,  which 
is  not  the  case.  The  entire  inscription  sounds 
rather  like  the  text  of  an  usurper  who  is  attempt- 
ing to  bolster  up  his  claims  to  the  throne  by  sound- 
ing titles  and  genealogical  connections,  as  was  done 
in  certain  cases  in  later  times.* 

Whether  Ao^um-kakrime  was  the  next  name  in 
the  list  or  not,  it  seems  almost  certain  that  he 
must  have  belonged  to  this  same  period  and  his 
name  must  have  followed  very  shortly  upon  the 
list.  In  his  inscription,  after  giving  all  his  con- 
nections of  blood  and  all  his  ties  to  the  gods,  he 
sets  forth  the  lands  of  his  rule  in  these  words : 
"  King  of  Kasshu  and  Accad ;  king  of  the  broad 
land  of  Babylon ;  who  caused  much  people  to  set- 
tle in  the  land  of  Ashnunnak;  king  of  Padan  and 

'  Winckler  {Geschichte,  p.  79). 

^  So,  for  example,  by  Sargon  II  and  Tiglathpileser  III. 


404    HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Alvan ;  king  of  the  land  Guti,  wide  extended 
peoples ;  a  king  wko  rules  the  Four  Quarters  of  the 
World  am  I."  This  is  a  remarkable  list  of  titles.  It 
is  at  once  noteworthy  that  the  titles  do  not  follow 
the  usual  Babylonian  order.  Usually  a  Babylonian 
king  would  write  the  title  in  this  fashion :  "King  of 
Babylon,  king  of  the  Four  Quarters  of  the  World, 
king  of  Sumer  and  Accad,  king  of  Kasshu." 
The  titles  "king  of  Padan  and  Alvan,  king  of 
Guti,  etc.,"  would  hardly  have  been  used  in  this 
form  at  all.  The  Babylonian  kings  would  seem  to 
feel  that  they  could  not  bear  direct  rule  over  a 
land  lying  outside  of  the  rule  of  the  Babylonian 
gods  who  alone  could  give  the  title  to  a  king  in 
Babylon.  Rather  would  such  a  king  have  called 
himself  "  King  of  the  kings  of  Padan,  Alvan,  and 
Guti,"  which  lands  he  would  thus  rule  through  a 
deputy  appointed  by  himself.  It  is  to  be  observed 
that  later  Kassite  kings  conformed  very  carefully 
to  this  custom.'  That  Agum-kakrime  violated  it 
is  another  proof  that  he  belongs  to  the  earlier 
kings  of  the  dynasty,  in  a  time  before  the  Kassites 
had  accommodated  themselves  to  the  customs  of 
their  conquered  land. 

But  the  titles  of  Agum-kakrime  serve  another 
and  larger  purpose  for  us  than  the  furnishing  of 
a  confirmation  of  the  position  we  have  assigned  him 
in  the  dynasty  ;  they  furnish  us  with  a  view  of 
the   extent   of   territory  governed   from  Babylon 

'  These  distinctions  are  due  to  the  keenness  of  Winckler  {Geschichte,  pp. 
80,  81). 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  405 

during  his  reign.  His  kingdom  covers  all  Baby- 
lonia, both  north  and  south,  which  belonged  to  the 
ancient  empire  of  Hammurabi ;  but  it  far  exceeded 
these  bounds.  Agum-kakrime  still  continued  to 
rule  the  land  of  Kasshu,  and  the  land  of  Ashnun- 
nak.  Guti  also,  a  land  of  which  we  have  heard 
nothing  since  the  days  of  Lasirab,  was  also  sub- 
ject to  him,  as  well  as  Padan,  the  land  of  Mesopo- 
tamia between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Balikh,  and 
Alvan  (modern  Holwan),  which  was  contiguous  to 
Guti  and  lay  in  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan.  As 
there  is  no  indication  in  the  inscriptions  of  the 
previous  dynasties  that  so  large  a  territory  had 
been  added  to  Babylonia  since  the  days  of  Ham- 
murabi, we  are  shut  up  to  the  view  that  the  Kas- 
sites  had  themselves  achieved  it.  This  would 
make  them  greater  conquerors  than  even  the 
mighty  founder  of  Babylon's  greatness. 

The  major  part  of  this  inscription  of  Agum-ka- 
krime deals  with  the  restoration  to  Babylon  of 
some  gods  which  had  been  carried  away  in  a  pre- 
vious raid  upon  the  country.  Agum-kakrime  says 
that  he  sent  an  embassy  to  the  far  away  land  of 
Khani,'  which  was  probably  located  in  the  moun- 
tain country  east  of  the  Tigris,  and  south  of  the 


'  The  location  of  Khani  is  now  fairly  well  settled.  Asshurnazirpal  (I  R. 
28,  col.  i,  18,  comp.  KeUhischrift.  Bibl.,  i,  124)  alludes  to  "  Mount  Khana  on 
the  side  of  the  lands  of  the  Lullumi,"  and  Billerbeck  (Sarischak  Sul.,  p.  8) 
would  identify  this  mountain  with  the  "Karadagh  oder  das  Bergland  zwis- 
chen  diesem  und  dem  Hamrin."  See  further,  Sayoe,  Proceedings  Soc.  Bib. 
Arch.,  January,  1899,  pp.  13,  ff.,  who  locates  "the  country  of  Khana  oa 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Babylonian  frontier." 


406     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONLl  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Lower  Zab,  to  bring  back  to  Babylon  the  statues  of 
Marduk  and  Zarpanit.  In  order  to  understand 
this  move  on  his  part  it  must  be  remembered  that, 
from  the  Babylonian  point  of  view,  there  could  be 
no  legitimate  king  in  Babylon  unless  he  had  been 
appointed  to  his  rule  by  Marduk,  patron  god  and 
real  ruler  of  the  city.  But  Marduk  had  been  car- 
ried away  by  the  people  of  Khani.  It  was  all  im- 
portant, therefore,  for  the  stability  of  the  throne 
that  this  god,  at  least,  be  immediately  restored. 
If  Agum-kakrime  had  had  sufficient  troops  at  his 
command,  he  would  probably  have  taken  the  god 
by  force  from  this  captors  ;  as  Nebuchadrezzar  I 
and  Asshurbanapal  did  in  later  times.  He  did 
not  do  this,  but  sent  an  "  embassy."  In  this  ex- 
pression we  may  see  an  euphemism  for  the  purchase 
or  ransom  of  the  gods  by  actual  payment  of  gold 
or  silver.  When  these  gods  were  taken  away 
we  do  not  know.  Perhaps  w^e  shall  not  go  far 
astray  if  we  locate  this  event  in  the  later  reigns 
of  the  kings  of  the  second  dynasty,  at  which  time 
we  have  also  placed  the  beginnings  of  the  Kassite 
influence.  The  gods  must  have  been  removed  by 
a  destructive  invasion,  for  Agum-kakrime  follows 
the  story  of  their  restoration  vrith  the  statement 
that  he  placed  them  in  the  temple  of  Shamash,  and 
provided  them  with  all  the  necessities  for  their 
worship,  because  Marduk's  own  temple,  E-sagila, 
had  to  be  restored  before  it  was  fit  for  his 
occupancy.  This  ruinous  state  of  Babylon's  great 
state    temple    points  backward    to  a    period    of 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  407 

great  weakness,  to  the  period  when  Babylon  was 
tottering  from  the  proud  position  to  which  Ham- 
murabi had  brought  it,  and  was  already  an  easy 
prey  for  the  foreigner. 

The  remaining  lines  of  this  important  inscrip- 
tion deal  with  temple  restorations,  and  thus  add 
the  name  of  Agum-kakrime  to  the  list  of  great 
builders  who  have  already  passed  in  review  before 
us.  No  other  events  in  his  reign  are  known  to  us, 
nor  is  its  length  preserved.  The  indications  which 
remain  would  seem  to  show  that  he  must  have 
reigned  long  and  peacefully. 

After  the  reign  of  Agum-kakrime  there  is  a 
sharp  break  in  the  chain  of  our  information  concern- 
ing the  history  of  this  dynasty.  It  will  be  neces- 
sary to  make  clear  the  reason  for  this  break,  and 
to  set  forth  briefly  the  means  adopted  for  the 
partial  repair  of  the  breach. 

In  giving  the  names  of  the  kings  of  this  dynasty 
from  Gandish  to  Agum-kakrime  we  have  simply 
followed  the  lists  made  by  the  Babylonian  schol- 
ars in  ancient  times.  If  the  list  were  perfectly  con- 
tinued, we  should  have  an  easy  task  in  follovnng 
out  the  kings  of  the  dynasty,  and  in  setting  forth 
something  of  their  activity  by  means  of  other 
historical  material.  Unhappily  the  tablet  con- 
taining the  list  is  broken  off  just  after  the  name  of 
Tashshigurumash.  The  list  is  then  resumed  after 
some  distance  by  the  name  Kudur-Bel,  alongside  of 
whose  name  stands  the  numeral  VI  as  the  number 
of  years  of  his  reign.     Following  the  name  Kudur- 


408     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONL^  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Bel  there  are  found  tlie  names  of  ten  kings  of 
the  Kassite  dynasty.  There  are  thus  preserved 
the  names  of  sixteen  kings,  to  which  we  may  add 
that  of  Agum-kakrime,  making  seventeen  in  all. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  list  it  is  stated  that  there 
were  thirty-six  kings  in  the  dynasty,  and  that  the 
sum  of  the  years  of  their  reigns  was  five  hundred 
and  seventy-six  years  and  nine  months.  For  the 
completion  of  the  list  we  therefore  need  the 
names  of  nineteen  kings.  How  many  of  these 
names  can  be  obtained  ?  In  the  present  state  of 
investigation  it  is  safe  to  say  that  of  these  nineteen 
missing  names  twelve  have  been  secured  with 
reasonable  certainty,  and  for  the  most  part  they 
can  be  arranged  accurately  in  order  in  the  dy- 
nasty. These  names  have  been  secured  in  some 
instances  from  contract  tablets  dated  in  their 
reigns ;  in  others  from  their  own  inscriptions ;  in 
othei-s  from  the  so-called  Synchronistic  History — 
an  original  Assyrian  document  giving  very  briefly 
the  early  relations  between  Babylonia  and  As- 
syria— in  others  from  letters  and  dispatches  which 
passed  between  the  courts  of  Babylonia,  Assyria, 
and  Egypt. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  history  of  the  re- 
maining kings  of  this  dynasty  it  will  be  necessary 
to  say  something  by  way  of  preface  of  the  condi- 
tions of  political  life  prevailing  elsewhere,  in  order 
to  the  better  understanding  of  the  facts  w^hich  we 
possess  with  reference  to  these  reigns. 

More  than  one  hundred  years  before  the  begin- 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  409 

ning  of  the  Kassite  dynasty  a  new  state,  destined 
to  a  splendid  career  of  dominion  among  men,  was 
showing  the  beginnings  of  its  life  along  the  east- 
ern bank  of  the  Tigris.  The  land  of  Assyria  in 
its  original  limits  was  a  small  land  inclosed  within 
the  natural  boundaries  of  the  Tigris,  the  Upper 
and  the  Lower  Zab,  and  the  Median  mountain 
range.  Its  inhabitants  at  this  time  were  Semites, 
and  apparently  of  much  purer  blood  than  their 
relatives  the  Babylonians,  who  had  intennarried 
with  the  Sumerians — a  custom  afterward  contin- 
ued with  the  Kassites  and  with  many  other  peo- 
ples. The  chief  city  of  this  small  Assyrian  state 
was  Asshur,  in  which  were  ruling,  at  the  period 
of  the  beginning  of  the  Kassite  dynasty,  Semitic 
Ishaklcus,  who  were  the  beginners  of  a  long  and 
distinguished  line.  Their  land  was  admirably  fur- 
nished by  nature.  In  it  lived  a  people  who  were 
not  enervated  by  luxury  nor  prostrated  in  energy 
by  excessive  and  long-continued  heat,  but  accus- 
tomed to  battle  with  snowdrifts  in  the  mountains 
and  to  conserve  their  physical  force  by  its  constant 
use.  It  is  no  wonder  that  under  such  favorable 
conditions  this  people  should  have  risen  rapidly 
to  power.  In  a  short  time  we  shall  find  them 
able  to  negotiate  treaties  with  the  kings  of  Baby- 
lonia, and  soon  thereafter  the  main  stream  of  his- 
tory flows  through  the  channels  they  were  now 
digging.  It  is  for  these  reasons  that  we  have  here 
touched  lightly  upon  the  beginnings  of  their 
national  life. 

28 


410     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Two  other  lands  require  brief  mention  before 
we  can  properly  understand  the  movement  of 
races  during  the  period  of  the  Kassite  dynasty. 

In  the  northwestern  part  of  the  great  valley 
between  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  lay  a  small 
country  whose  two  chief  limits  were  set  by  the 
river  Euphrates  and  its  tributary  the  Balikh.  In 
the  Egyptian  inscriptions  of  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  dynasties  it  is  called  Naharina — that  is, 
the  river  country — but  it  was  called  Mitanni  by  its 
own  kings.  How  long  a  people  had  lived  within 
its  borders  with  kings  of  their  own  and  a  separate 
national  existence  remains  an  enigma.  No  inscrip- 
tions of  the  people  of  Mitanni,  save  letters  written 
to  kings  of  Egypt,  have  been  found.  We  should 
indeed  hardly  know  of  the  land  at  all  but  for  the 
discovery  of  the  royal  archives  of  the  kings  Ameno- 
phis  III  and  Amenophis  IV,  the  kings  of  Egypt 
who  had  diplomatic  intercourse  with  it.  From 
these  letters  and  dispatches  we  have  learned  the 
names  of  several  of  the  kings  of  Mitanni,  among 
them  Artatama,  Artashuma,  Sutarna,  and  Dush- 
ratta.  Their  chief  god  was  Tishup,  whose  name 
as  well  as  the  names  of  his  worshipers  is  not 
Semitic,  but  what  their  racial  ties  may  be  we  do 
not  know.  At  the  time  when  these  kings  were 
writing  dispatches  to  the  kings  of  Egypt  their  land 
was  in  some  sort  of  union  with  Khanigalbat,  a 
land  later  known  as  Melitene  and  situated  much 
farther  north  and  west  in  the  mountains.  Between 
the  kings  of  Mitanni  and  the  kings  of  Egypt  there 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  411 

were  bonds  of  marriage,  tlie  kings  of  Egypt  hav- 
ing married  princesses  from  the  far  distant  "  river 
land."  The  fact  that  the  proud  kings  of  Egypt 
were  anxious  to  ally  themselves  to  the  kings  of 
Mitanni  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  land 
was  sufficiently  wealthy  or  influential  to  make  it 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  Egypt.  The  letters  of 
Mitanni  were  written  chiefly  in  the  Semitic  lan- 
guage of  Babylonia,  and  in  the  cuneiform  charac- 
ters, with  which  we  are  familiar  in  the  native  in- 
scriptions. One  of  these  letters,  however,  pre- 
served in  the  Royal  Museum  in  Berlin,'  is  written 
in  the  language  of  Mitanni,  which  has  thus  far  not 
yielded  to  the  numerous  efforts  made  to  decipher 
it.'  The  kingdom  of  Mitanni  must  take  its  place 
among  the  small  states  which  have  had  their 
share  in  influencing  the  progress  of  the  world, 
but  whose  own  history  we  are  unable  to  trace. 
But,  though  we  cannot  do  this,  we  may  at  least  ob- 
serve that  it  seems  to  have  been  largely  under 
Semitic  influences,  for  its  method  of  writing  was 
borrowed  from  its  powerful  neighbors. 

The  last  land  to  which  our  attention  must  be 
diverted,  before  proceeding  with  the  main  story  is 
the  land  of  Kardunyash.'     Originally  the  word 


'  VA.  Th.  422. 

*  Attempts  to  decipher  this  language  have  been  made  by  Sayce  (Academy, 
vol.  xxxvii,  1 890,  p.  94 ;  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyrioloffie,  v,  pp.  260-2*74),  by 
Jensen  {Zeitschrifi  fur  Assyrioloffie,  V,  pp.  166-208;  vi,  pp.  34-72),  and 
by  Briinnow  (ibid.,  v,  pp.  209-259). 

^  W'mckler  {Uiitersiichufig€7i,  pp.  135,  136;  Geschkhte,  pp.  86,  87).  For 
references  to  the  El-Amarna  letters  from  Kardunyash  see  below. 


412     HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSY'RIA. 

Kardunyash  seems  to  be  applied  to  a  small  tem- 
tory  in  southern  Babylonia  close  to  the  Persian 
Gulf.  The  termination,  "  ash  "  is  Kassite,  and  it 
has  been  supposed,  with  good  reason,  that  the 
Kassites  first  settled  in  this  land  by  the  Persian 
Gulf,  and  used  it  as  a  base  from  Avhich  to  overrun 
and  conquer  Babylonia.  Whether  this  be  true  or 
not,  it  is  at  least  certain  that  the  name  Karduny- 
ash comes  to  be  used  by  the  Kassite  kings  as  a 
sort  of  official  name  for  the  land  of  Babylonia. 

We  are  now  able  to  return  to  the  Kassite  dy- 
nasty after  a  long  excursus ;  the  better  prepared 
to  gather  together  such  little  threads  of  informa- 
tion as  link  them  with  their  neighbors. 

As  we  have  seen  above,  the  Babylonian  King 
List  is  so  broken  after  the  name  Tashshigurumash 
that  some  names  are  lost.  Of  these  missing  names 
we  have  already  secured  the  name  of  Agum- 
kakrime.  After  him  there  lived  six  kings  whose 
names,  together  with  all  their  words  and  works, 
are  lost. 

The  next  king  of  the  Kassite  dynasty  of  whom 
we  have  knowledge  is  Karaindash  (about  1450 
B.  C).  Like  his  predecessors  and  successors,  he 
was  a  builder,  as  his  own  brief  words  make 
plain :  "  To  Nana,  the  goddess  of  E-Anna,  his 
mistress,  built  Karaindash,  the  powerful  king, 
king  of  Babylon,  king  of  Sumer  and  Accad, 
king  of  Kasshu,  king  of  Kardunyash,  a  temple  in 
E-Anna."  In  this  brief  inscription  the  king 
places  Babylon  first  in  his  list  of  titles,  and  the 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  413 

two  Kassite  titles,  Kassliu  and  Kardunyash,  at  the 
very  last.  This  can  only  be  due  to  a  following  of 
the  immemorial  Babylonian  usage.  The  old  land 
soon  absorbed  the  peoples  who  came  to  it  as  con- 
querors, and  by  the  potency  of  its  own  civilization 
and  the  power  of  its  religion  compelled  adherence 
to  ancient  law  and  custom.  The  Kassites  had 
conquered  Babylonia  by  force  of  arms ;  already 
has  Babylonian  culture  conquered  the  Kassites  and 
assimilated  them  to  itself. 

In  the  reign  of  Karaindash  we  meet  for  the  first 
time  evidence  of  contact  between  the  still  youthful 
kingdom  of  Assyria  and  the  empire  of  Babylonia 
— even  then  hoary  with  age.  Our  knowledge  of 
these  relations  between  the  two  kingdoms  comes 
from  the  Assyrians,  who  made  during  the  reign 
of  Adad-nirari  III  (811-783  B.  C.)  a  list  of  the 
various  friendly  and  hostile  relations  between  Baby- 
lonia and  Assyria  from  the  earliest  times  down  to 
this  reign.  The  original  of  this  precious  docu- 
ment has  perished,  but  a  copy  of  it  was  made  for 
the  library  of  Asshurbanapal  by  some  of  his  schol- 
ars, to  whom  our  knowledge  of  the  ancient  Orient 
owes  so  much.  This  copy  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum,  and,  though  badly  broken,  fully  half  of 
it  may  be  read.'  It  has  been  named  the  Syn- 
chronistic History,  and,  though  it  is  not  a  history  in 

'  Published  II  R.  66,  and  III  R.  4,  3.  See  also  Delitzsch,  Kassaer,  pp. 
6,  ff.,  and  the  valuable  translation  by  Peiser  and  Winckler  {Keilinschrift. 
Bibl,  i,  pp.  194,  ff.),  which  is  based  on  a  new  collation  by  Winckler.  See 
.nlso  above,  p.  324. 


414      HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

any  strict  sense,  it  is  convenient  to  retain  this  ap- 
pellation. The  very  first  words  upon  it  which 
may  be  read  with  certainty  relate  to  Karaindash, 
and  are  as  follows  :  "  Karaindash,  king  of  Karduny- 
ash  and  Asshurbelnishishu,  king  of  Assyria,  made 
a  treaty  with  one  another,  and  swore  an  oath  con- 
cerning this  territory  with  one  another."  This 
first  entry  evidently  refers  to  some  debatable  land 
between  the  two  countries,  concerning  which 
there  had  been  previous  difficulty.  The  two  kings 
have  now  settled  the  boundary  line  by  treaty. 
This  shows  that  Assyria  was  already  sufficiently 
powerful  to  claim  a  legitimate  title  to  a  portion  of 
the  great  valley,  and  it  was  acknowledged  by 
Babylon  as  an  independent  kingdom.  It  is  not 
long  before  this  small  kingdom  of  Assyria  begins 
to  dispute  with  Babylonia  for  the  control  even  of 
the  soil  of  Babylonia  itself.  With  this  first  notice 
of  relations  between  the  two  kingdoms  begins  the 
long  series  of  struggles,  whether  peaceful  or  war- 
like, which  never  cease  till  the  bloodthirsty  As- 
syrian has  driven  the  Babylonian  from  the  seat  of 
power  and  possessed  his  inheritance. 

We  are  unhappily  not  in  a  position  to  be  very 
certain  as  to  the  order  of  succession  of  the  follow- 
ers of  Karaindash,  but  his  immediate  successor  was 
probably  Kadashman-Bel.'  No  historical  inscrip- 
tion of  this  king  and  no  business  documents  dated 

'  The  name  was  formerl}'  read  Kallima-Sin  (Winckler,  Tlie  Tell-el-Am- 
arna  Letters,  i,  pp.  2,  ff.),  but  see  for  the  correction  Knudtzon,  Zeitschrift 
fiir  Assyriologie,  xii,  pp.2ti9,  270. 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  415 

in  his  reign  have  yet  come  to  light  in  Babylonia. 
We  should  be  at  a  loss  to  locate  him  at  all  were  it 
not  for  the  assistance  to  be  obtained  from  the 
archives  of  the  Egyptians.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
land  of  Mitanni,  so  also  here  are  we  in  possession 
of  some  portions  of  a  correspondence  with  Amen- 
ophis  III,  king  of  Egypt.  The  British  Museum 
possesses  a  letter  written  in  Egypt  by  Amenophis 
III  to  Kadashman-Bel,  and  the  Berlin  Museum 
has  three  letters  from  Kadashman-Bel  to  Ameno- 
phis III.  The  first  letter  is  probably  a  copy  of 
the  original  sent  to  Babylonia.  It  begins  in  this 
stately  fashion :  "  To  Kadashman-Bel,  king  of  Kar- 
dunyash,  my  brother ;  thus  saith  Amenophis,  the 
great  king,  the  king  of  Egypt,  thy  brother  :  with 
me  it  is  well.  May  it  be  well  with  thee,  with  thy 
house,  with  thy  wives,  with  thy  children,  with  thy 
nobles,  with  thy  horses  and  with  thy  chariots, 
and  with  thy  land  may  it  be  well ;  with  me  may 
it  be  well,  with  my  house,  with  my  wives,  with 
my  children,  with  my  nobles,  with  my  horses, 
with  my  chariots,  wdth  my  troops,  and  with 
my  land,  may  it  be  very  well." '  The  letter 
then  discusses  the  proposed  matrimonial  alliance 
between  Egypt  and  Babylonia  and  urges  that 
Kadashman-Bel  should  give  to  him  his  daughter 
to  wife.  The  letter  further  announces  the  sending 
to  Kadashman-Bel  of  an  ambassador  to  negotiate 
a  commercial  treaty  between  the  two  states,  by 
which  certain  imports  from  Babylonia  into  Egypt 
were  to  pay  a  customs   duty.     The   letters    pre- 


416     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

served  in  Berlin  seem  to  relate  to  the  same  cor- 
respondence and  deal  chiefly  with  the  proposed 
marriage  of  the  daughter  of  Kadashman-Bel  to 
Amenophis  III,  to  which  friendly  consent  was 
finally  given.  Both  the  daughter  and  the  sister 
of  Kadashman-Bel  were  thus  numbered  among  the 
wives  of  Amenophis  III — full  proof  of  the  very 
intimate  relation  which  now  subsisted  between  the 
two  great  culture  lands  of  antiquity,  Babylonia  and 
Egypt.  To  find  letters  passing  between  Babylon 
and  Egypt  about  1400  B.  C,  and  ambassadors 
endeavoring  to  negotiate  commercial  treaties,  does, 
indeed,  give  us  a  wonderful  view  into  the  light  of 
the  distant  past.  This  all  witnesses  to  a  high  state 
of  civilization;  to  ready  intercourse  over  good 
roads ;  to  firmly  fixed  laws  and  stable  national  cus- 
toms. It  gives  us,  however,  no  light  upon  the 
political  history  of  Babylonia,  which  is  the  object 
of  our  present  search,  and  we  must  pass  from  it. 
Kadashman-Bel  had  a  long  reign  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Burnaburiash  I. 

The  Synchronistic  History '  sets  down  this  king 
as  contemporary  with  Puzur-Asshur,  king  of  As- 
syiia,  with  whom  he  seems  to  have  had  a  hostile 
demonstration  concerning  the  boundaries  between 
the  two  lands.  As  the  Assyrian  writer  alludes  only 
euphemistically  to  their  relation  as  unfriendly,  and 
says  nothing  of  an  Assyrian  victory,  it  is  safe  per- 
haps to  conclude  that  Burnaburiash  was  success- 
ful.    Little  else  of  his  reign  is  known,  though  he 

1  Col.  i,  lines  6-7. 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  417 

was  also  in  a  measure  a  builder  of  temples,  for 
a  brick  brought  from  the  temple  ruins  at  Larsa 
shows  that  he  had  erected  there  a  temple  to  the 
sun  god.' 

Of  the  next  king,  Kurigalzu  I,  about  1410  B.  C, 
son  of  Burnaburiash  I,  our  knowledge  is  also 
very  unsatisfactory.  It  is  known  from  the  letters 
of  Burnaburiash  II  that  he  stood  in  friendly  rela- 
tions with  Amenophis  III,  king  of  Egypt,  and  it 
is  probable  that  his  relations  with  the  Assyrians 
were  friendly.  The  few  inscriptions ''  of  his  which 
remain  record  simply  the  usual  building  opera- 
tions. The  titles  which  he  uses  in  his  texts  are 
"King  of  Sumer  and  Accad,  king  of  the  Four 
Quarters  of  the  World,"  to  which  in  one  instance 
he  adds  the  title  "  shakkanak  (that  is,  governor) 
of  Bel,"  and  in  another  case  uses  this  latter  title 
only.  The  title  of  king  of  Babylon,  which  we 
might  have  expected,  is  not  used  by  him  at  all. 
This  maybe  because  he  was  not  officially  made 
king  by  the  use  of  all  the  solemn  ceremonies 
which  the  priesthood  had  devised.  The  city 
of  Dur-Kurigalzu  (Kurigalzuburg)  derived  its 
name  from  him,  but  it  does  not  appear  whether 
he  was  its  founder  or  only  a  benefactor  and  re- 
builder.  The  compiler  of  the  Synchronistic  History 
found  no  events  in  his  reign  in  connection  with  the 
contemporary  Assyrian  king,  Asshur-nadin-akhe, 

'  I  R.  4,  xiii,  Keilinschrift.  Bibl.,  iii,  i,  p.  153. 

'^  I  R.  4,  Lehmann  in  ZeUschrift  fiir  Assp-iologie,  v,  417,  and  Hilprecbt, 
Old  Bab.  Ins.,  i,  part  i,  pi.  20,  etc. 


418     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

which  were  worthy  of  narration,  and  he  is  there- 
fore passed  by  without  a  word.  His  reign  was 
probably  short,  and  at  its  conclusion,  about  the  year 
1400,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  sou,  Burnaburiash 
II,  whose  reign  was  long  and  prosperous,  though 
no  Babylonian  memorials  of  it  have  been  pre- 
served. 

Four  letters  written  by  this  king  to  Amenophis 
IV  {Naphhuriya,  Ahli-en-Aton),  king  of  Egypt,  are 
preserved  in  the  Berlin  Museum,'  and  two  more 
are  in  the  British  Museum/  No  historical  mate- 
rial of  great  moment  is  offered  in  these  letters. 
They  reveal  a  period  of  relative  peace  and  pros- 
perity, and  deal,  in  considerable  measure,  with  the 
little  courtesies  and  amenities  of  life.  It  is,  for 
example,  curious  to  find  the  Babylonian  king  re- 
proving the  king  of  Egypt  for  not  having  sent  an 
ambassador  to  inquire  for  him  when  he  was  ill.' 
When  kings  had  time  for  such  courtesies,  and 
could  only  excuse  themselves  for  failing  to  ob- 
serve them  on  the  ground  of  their  ignorance  of 
the  illness  and  the  great  distance  to  be  covered  on 
the  journey,  there  must  have  been  freedom  from 
war  and  from  all  distress  at  home  and  abroad. 

The  successor  of  Burnaburiash  II  apj^ears  to  have 
been  Karakhardash  (about  1370  B.  C),  who  had 
for  his  chief  wife  Muballitat-Sherua,  daughter  of 

'  VA.  Th.  149,  150,  151,  152.  Der  Tlionta/el/und  von  El-Amarna, 
Heft  i. 

-Bu.  88-10-13,  Nos.  21,  46,  and  81. 

^VA.  Th.  150,  10,  S.,  translated  by  Zimmern,  Zeitschri/t  fur  Assyriot- 
offie,  V,  p.  139. 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  419 

Asshiir-uballit,  king  of  Assyria,  so  that  the  custom 
of  intermari-iage  which  prevailed  between  the  royal 
houses  of  Egypt  and  Babylon  at  this  period  had 
also  its  illustration  between  the  houses  of  Assyria 
and  Babylonia.  This  alliance  made  for  peace  be- 
tween the  two  royal  houses,  but  did  not  establish 
peace  between  the  peoples  of  the  two  countries. 
When  Karakhardash  died  his  son,  Kadashman- 
Kharbe  I,  came  to  the  throne.  His  mother  was 
Muballitat-Sherua,  and  so  it  happened  that  an 
Assyrian  king  had  his  grandson  upon  the  throne 
of  Babylon.  This  king  conducted  a  campaign 
against  the  Sutu,  whom  he  conquered  and  among 
w^hom  he  settled  some  of  his  own  loyal  subjects. 
Upon  his  return  from  this  expedition  he  found 
himself  confronted  by  a  rebellion  of  the  Kassites, 
who  were  probably  jealous  of  the  growth  of  As- 
syrian influence,  and  he  was  killed.  The  rebels 
then  placed  upon  the  throne  Nazibugash  (also 
called  Shuzigash,  about  1360  B.  C),  a  man  of 
humble  origin  and  not  a  descendant  of  the  royal 
line.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  this  rebellion  reached 
Assyria  Asshuruballit,  desiring  to  avenge  his 
grandson,  marched  against  Babylonia,  killed  Nazi- 
bugash,  and  placed  upon  the  throne  Kurigalzu  II, 
n  S(  m  of  Kadashman-Kharbe.'     Kurigalzu  II  (about 

'  These  facts  are  found  in  the  Babylonian  Chronicle  P,  first  published  in 
translation  by  Pinches,  Records  of  the  Past,  new  series,  v,  pp.  106,  fF.,  and 
retranslated  more  accurately  by  Winckler,  Altorientalische  Forschungen, 
pp.  115,  f.  With  this  chronicle  is  to  be  compared  the  Synchronistic  History 
in  which  there  appear  to  be  some  errors.  Comp.  Winckler,  ibid.,  and 
also  Rest,  Untersuchungen,  p.  54,  etc. 


420     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

1350  B.  C.)  was  probably  made  king  while  still 
young,  and  his  reign  was  long.  We  cannot  follow 
its  events  in  detail,  but  may  get  a  slight  view  of 
some  of  its  glories.  Many  centuries  before  his 
day,  when  Kudur-nakhundi  of  Elam  ravaged  in 
Babylonia,  he  carried  away  a  small  agate  tablet, 
which  was  carefully  preserved  in  the  land  of 
Elam.  This  happened  about  2285  B.  C,  and  now, 
about  1350  B.  C,  Kurigalzu  II  invades  Elam  and 
conquers  even  the  city  of  Susa  itself.  The  little 
agate  tablet  is  recovered,  and  the  victorious  Kuri- 
galzu II  places  it  in  the  temple  of  E-kur  at  Nip- 
pur, with  his  own  brief  inscription  engraved  on 
its  back:  "Kurigalzu,  king  of  Karadunyash,  con. 
quered  the  palace  of  Susa  in  Elam  and  presented 
(this  tablet)  to  Belit,  his  mistress,  for  his  life." '  It 
is  to  this  campaign  that  the  Babylonian  Chronicle 
probably  refers  in  its  allusion  to  the  campaign 
of  Kurigalzu  against  Khurbatila,  king  of  Elam, 
which  resulted  so  victoriously.  After  the  invasion 
of  Elam  the  victorious  Kurigalzu  II  also  fought 
with  Bel-nirari,  king  of  Assyria,  and  worsted  him, 
as  the  Babylonian  Chronicle  narrates  the  story, 
though  the  Assyrian  Synchronistic  History  claims 
the  victory  in  the  same  conflict  for  the  Assyrians.* 
Nazi-Maruttash  (about  1340  B.  C),  son  of  Kuri- 
galzu II,  the  next  king,  also  fought  with  the  As- 

'  Hilprecht,  Old  Bab.  Liscrip.,  vol.  i,  part  i,  p.  31. 

^Comp.  Chron.  P,  iii,  20-22,  with  Synchronistic  History,  i,  18,  ff.,  and 
see  Winckler,  Altorientalische  Forschungen,  i,  pp.  122,  123,  and  Rost, 
Untersuchungen,  p.  54,  note  1.  Chronicle  P  has  here  read  Adad-nirari 
incorrectly  for  Bel-nirari. 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  421 

Syrians,  led  by  their  king,  Adad-nirari  I,  who  de- 
feated him  signally,  and  gained  some  Babylonian 
territory  by  pushing  the  boundary  farther  south. 
This  is  the  Assyi'ian  account ;  what  the  Baby- 
lonian story  may  have  been  we  do  not  know,  for 
the  Babylonian  Chronicle  is  broken  at  this  point. 
Of  the  son  of  Nazi-Maruttash  who  succeeded  him 
under  the  name  of  Kadashman-Turgu  we  know 
nothing,  and  of  his  successor,  Kadashman-Buriash 
(about  1330  B.  C),  we  only  know  that  he  was  at 
war  with  Shalmaneser  I,  king  of  Assyria,'  without 
being  able  to  learn  the  outcome.  These  constantly 
recurring  wars  with  Assyria  are  ominous,  and  in- 
dicate the  rapid  increase  of  Assyrian  power.  They 
point  toward  the  day  of  destruction  for  Babylon, 
and  of  glory  for  the  military  people  who  were  be- 
ginning to  press  upon  the  great  city. 

The  following  reigns  are  almost  entirely  un- 
known to  us.  The  names  of  the  kings  awaken  no 
response  in  our  minds,  and  we  can  only  set  them 
down  as  empty  words ;  they  are  Kudur-Bel  (about 
1304-1299  B.  C.)  and  Shagarakti-Shuriash  (about 
1298-1286  B.  C),  though  in  their  cases  the  Baby- 
lonian King  List  has  supplied  us  -with  the  length 
of  their  reigns,  and  we  know  definitely  and  cer- 
tainly their  order  in  the  dynasty. 

The  Babylonian  Chronicle  now  again  comes  to 
our  aid,  and  with  rather  startling  intelligence. 
Tukulti-Ninib,  king  of  Assyria,  has  invaded  Baby- 

•  III  R.  4,  No.  1.     Comp.  Delitzsch,   Kossi'ier,  p.  10,  and  Hilprecht,  Old 
Babylonian  Inscriptions,  vol.  i,  part  i,  p.  31. 


422     HISTORY   OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Ion.  We  do  not  know  wliat  steps  led  to  this 
attack.  Perhaps  the  old  boundary  disputes  had 
once  more  caused  difficulty,  perhaps  it  was  only 
the  growing  Assyrian  lust  for  power  and  territory. 
But  whatever  the  cause  this  was  no  ordinary  in- 
vasion intended  chiefly  as  a  threat.  The  Assyrian 
king  enters  Babylon,  kills  some  of  its  inhabitants, 
destroys  the  city  wall,  at  least  partially,  and,  last 
and  worst  of  all,  removes  the  treasures  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  carries  away  the  great  god  Marduk  to  As- 
syria.' Here  was  a  sore  defeat  indeed,  and  the 
end,  for  the  time  at  least,  of  Babylonian  independ- 
ence. The  line  of  kings  is  continued  during  the 
period  of  war  and  invasion  with  the  names  of 
Bibeiashu  (about  1285-1278  B.  C),  during  whose 
reign  the  invasion  probably  occurred ;  Bel-shum- 
iddin,  and  Kadashman-Kharbe  II,  who  together 
reigned  but  three  years  (about  1277-1275),  and 
Adad-shum-iddin  (about  1274-1269  B.  C).  But  the 
last  three  of  these  kings  must  have  been  only  vas- 
sals of  Tukulti-Ninib,  who  was  the  real  king  of 
Babylon  for  seven  years,  even  though  he  was  rep- 
resented by  these  as  his  deputies.''  Here  is  the 
city  of  Hammurabi,  glorious  in  its  history,  ancient 
in  its  days,  ruled  by  a  king  of  the  small  and  rela- 
tively modern  state  of  Assyria.  But  the  old  spirit 
was  not  quite  dead,  and  after  seven  years  of  this 
domination  the  Babylonians  rose  in  rebellion,  drove 

'  Chronicle  P,  col.  iv,  3-6. 

'  See  Hommel's  acute  suggestions  for  removing  the  chronological  diflRcul- 
ties  in  Winckler,  AltorientaliscJie  Forschungen,  i,  pp.  138,  139. 


THE  KASSITE  DYNASTY.  423 

the  Assyrians  from  Babylon,  and  made  Adad- 
shum-usur  (about  1268-1239  B.  C.)  king,  while 
Tukulti-Ninib  returned  to  Assyria  only  to  find  a 
rebellion  against  him  headed  by  his  own  son.'  In 
this  his  life  was  lost,  and  he  went  down  with  the 
decline  of  his  once  brilliant  fortunes.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  reign  of  Adad-shum-usur  was  at  once 
the  token  and  result  of  better  fortunes  in  Baby- 
lonia. In  his  reign  the  power  of  Babylon  again 
began  to  increase.  He  attacked  Assyria  itself, 
and  the  Assyrians  were  scarce  able  to  keep  the 
victorious  Babylonians  out  of  their  country.  Their 
king,  Bel-kudur-usur,  was  slain  in  battle,  and  in 
the  overturning  Babylonia  made  gains  of  Assyr- 
ian territory.  The  reign  of  Meli-Shipak  (about 
1238-1224  B.  C.)  was  also  a  period  of  Babylonian 
aggression  against  the  Assyrian  king  Ninib-apal- 
esharra,*  and  to  such  good  pui'pose  that  the  next 
Babylonian  king,  Marduk-apal-iddin  (about  1223- 
1211  B.  C),  saw  the  Assyi'ians  once  more  confined 
to  their  narrow  territory,  stripped  of  all  their  con- 
quests, and  was  able  to  add  to  his  own  name  the 
proud  titles  "  king  of  Kishshati,  king  of  Sumer  and 
Accad," '  in  token  of  the  extension  once  more  of 
Babylonian  dominion  over  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
valley. 

But  this  change  was  too  great  and  too  sudden 
to  last,  and  the  power  of  Assyria  must  soon  re- 

'  Chronicle  P,  iv,  7-11. 

*  Synchronistic  History,  ii,  3-8. 

3  VI  K.  41,  i,  20. 


424     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

turn  and  then  again  continue  to  develop.  When 
Asshur-dan  became  king  of  Assyria,  and  this  was 
probably  while  Marduk-apal-iddin  was  still  reign- 
ing, there  was  another  reversal  of  fortunes,  though 
this  time  the  change  was  neither  so  sudden  nor  so 
great.  Asshur-dan  fought  with  the  next  Babylo- 
nian king,  Zamamashumiddin  (about  1210  B.  C), 
and  succeeded  in  winning  back  some  of  the  cities  in 
the  ever-debatable  land  between  Assyria  and 
Babylonia,'  and  thus  gave  proof  that  the  Assyrian 
power  was  again  waxing  strong.  The  next  Kas- 
site  king,  Bel-shum-iddin  (about  1209-1207  B.  C), 
reigned  also  but  a  short  time,  and  the  very  brevity 
of  these  reigns  may,  perhaps,  as  often,  indicate  that 
the  period  was  filled  with  strife.  Assyria  was  cer- 
tainly threatening  the  Babylonian  empire,  for  the 
long  reign  of  Asshur-dan  gave  time  for  the  carry- 
ing out  of  extensive  plans,  and  the  power  to  realize 
them  was  plainly  not  wanting.  The  failure  of  the 
Kassites  to  hold  inviolate  the  territory  of  Baby- 
lonia resulted  in  a  Semitic  revolution  in  which  the 
dynasty  that  had  ruled  so  long  in  the  queenly  city 
ended.  Its  advent  was  heralded  by  war  and  by 
internal  dissensions  in  the  last  preceding  dynasty ; 
and  its  approaching  end  was  indicated  in  like 
manner. 

1  Synchronistic  History,  iii,  9-12. 


THE  DYNASTY  OF  ISIN.  425 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    DYNASTY    OF   ISIN. 

The  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the  great  Kassite 
dynasty  is  unknown  to  us.  It  may  have  been  due 
to  an  uprising  of  the  Semites  against  foreign  dom- 
ination, with  the  war  cry  of  "  Babylonia  for  the 
Babylonians  ;"  a  ciy  which  in  various  languages 
has  often  resounded  among  men  and  won  many  a 
national  triumph. 

The  Babylonian  King  List  names  the  new 
dynasty,  the  dynasty  of  Isin,'  but  its  origin  is 
still  doubtful.  It  has  been  suggested  that  it  be- 
gan in  Babylon  and  is  named  after  a  section  of  the 
city  known  as  Isin,''  but  it  is  still  possible  that  it 
originated  in  the  city  of  Isin,  whose  influence  had 
been  marked  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  history. 
This  dynasty  reigned  in  Babylon  a  period  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-two  years.  The  list  is  so  badly 
broken  that  but  few  of  the  names  have  been  re- 
tained, and  we  are  once  more  forced  to  seek  the 
means  of  restoring  the  names  from  notices  in 
other  documents.  There  were  eleven  kings  in 
this    dynasty    who  were  regarded  by  the  Baby- 

'  Jensen  reads  Isin  [ZeitscJirift  fiir  Assyriologie,  xi,  p.  90),  and  Craig 
{American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages  and  Literatures,  xiii,  pp.  220,  221), 
supports  him.     Conip.  also  Rost  {Untersuchungen,  p.  10,  note  2). 

'  So,  for  example,  Kost,  /.  c. 
29 


426     HISTOEY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Ionian  historians  as  legitimate,  and  of  these  four 
or  five  are  entirely  unknown  to  us. 

The  names  of  the  first  two  kings  of  the  dynasty, 
who  reigned  eighteen  and  six  years  respectively 
(about  1206-1189  B.  C.  and  1188-1183  B.  C),  are 
lost  and  cannot  yet  be  restored;  so,  also,  are  the 
names  and  the  regnal  years  of  the  next  three 
kings.  The  sixth  king  of  the  dynasty  was  Nebu- 
chadrezzar I'  (about  1135  B.  C).  This  king  ex- 
hibits once  more  the  spirit  almost  of  a  Hammu- 
rabi. His  victories  are  brilliant,  and  his  defeats 
only  evidence  the  hopelessness  of  the  caase  of 
Babylonia  and  the  vigor  of  his  efforts  to  save  the 
state.  AVhen  he  began  to  reign  Mutakkil-Nusku 
was  probably  king  of  Assyria,  and  in  him  lived 
the  traditions  of  the  glorious  reign  of  Asshur-dan, 
\vho  had  once  more  carried  the  Assyrian  arms  to 
victory.  Assyria  was  preparing  to  contest  with 
Babylonia  the  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  val- 
ley, and  the  older  land  had  need  of  a  man  of  force 
and  character.  In  the  reign  of  the  next  Assyrian 
king,  by  name  Asshur-rish-ishi,  came  the  first  great 
contest,  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  for  suprem- 
acy between  the  two  great  nations.  Nebuchad- 
rezzar took  the  initiative  and  entered  Assyria,  but 
was  met  by  Asshur-rish-ishi,  defeated  and   forced 

^  Hilprecht  has  tried,  with  great  learniug  and  acuteness,  to  prove  that 
Nebuchadrezzar  I  was  the  first  king  of  tiiis  dynasty  {Old  Babylonian  In- 
Hcriptions,  i,  part  i,  pp.  38-44),  but  without  success.  Delitzsch  has  shown 
tliat  the  name  of  Nebuchadrezzar  could  not  have  stood  in  the  first  place  on 
the  King  List  (Assyriologische  Miscellen,  p.  186),  and  Winckler  has  proved 
that  this  view  cannot  be  reconciled  with  Assyrian  chronology  {Unter- 
Kitchuuffcn.  pp.  28,  29,  and  Altorientalische  Forschungen^  i,  p.  131). 


THE   DYNASTY   OF   ISIN.  427 

to  retreat  in  a  veritable  rout,  having  burned  even 
his  l)aggage  to  lighten  his  return  to  Babylonia. 
Having  collected  reinforcements,  he  returned  to 
the  contest,  but  was  met  by  superior  forces,  again 
defeated  and  forced  to  retreat,  having  lost  forty  of 
his  chariots.  This  terrible  reverse  found  a  coun- 
terbalancing success  else^vdlere,  for  Nebuchadrezzar 
conquered  the  Lulubi,  punished  Elam  on  the  east,' 
and,  most  important  of  all,  swung  fearlessly  and 
successfully  his  flying  columns  into  the  far  west, 
even  into  Syria,'  that  goal  of  such  mighty  endeavor 
in  the  distant  past.  In  one  of  his  inscriptions 
Nebuchadrezzar  calls  himself  "sun  of  his  land, 
who  makes  his  people  prosperous,  the  protector  of 
boundaries."  Well  might  he  make  the  boast,  for, 
though  unsuccessful  against  the  Assyrians,  he  had 
maintained  a  kingdom,  which  without  him  had 
probably  fallen  before  the  new  and  already  almost 
invincible  Assyrian  power. 

Nebuchadrezzar  I  was  succeeded  by  Bel-nadin- 
apli  (about  1125  B.C.),  whose  reign  furnishes  no 
event  of  importance  known  to  us.  In  the  reign 
of  his  successor,  Marduk-nadin-akhe  (about  1117- 
1096  B.  C),  the  Assyrians  displayed  in  a  still 
clearer  light  the  power  ^vhich  was  finally  to  put 
the  destinies  of  all  western  Asia  in  their  hands. 
The   throne   of   Assyria   was   now   occupied    b}^ 

'  V  R.  55-51,  and  Hilprecht,  Freibrief  Nebuchadrezzar's.  See  also  S.  A. 
Smith,  Assi/rian  LetkTs,  iv,  and  Meissner  in  Zcitschrift  fiir  Assyriologie, 
iv,  pp.  259,  ff.  (by  latter  mistakenly  ascribed  to  Nebudiadi'ezzar  11). 

'■Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archceology,  1882,  p.  10.  and 
comp.  Hilprecht,  Old  Babylonian  Inscriptio7ts,  i,  part  i,  p.  41. 


4^8     HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

Tiglathpileser  I,  one  of  the  greatest  warriors  of 
antiquity.  Against  his  kingdom  Marduk-nadin- 
akhe  at  first  had  some  success,  for  he  carried  away 
from  Ekallati  the  images  of  the  gods  Adad  and 
Sala.  These  remained  away  for  centuries,  and 
were  only  restored  to  their  place  by  Sennacherib. 
But  such  successes  only  nerved  Tiglathpileser  to 
greater  efforts.  He  invaded  Babylonia  and  cap- 
tured a  number  of  cities  in  its  northern  half  and 
even  took  Babylon  itself.  Herein  is  the  first  great 
blow  against  Babylonian  independence.  The  As- 
syrians did  not  hold  the  captured  city,  but  Tiglath- 
pileser I  was  the  grand  monarch  of  western  Asia, 
and  the  Babylonian  king  ruled  only  by  sufferance. 
The  next  Babylonian  king  was  probably  Marduk- 
akhe-irba,  who  ruled  only  one  year  and  six  months 
and  then  gave  place  to  Marduk-shapik-zer-mati 
(about  1094-1083  B.  C),  with  whom  there  began 
again  a  brief  period  of  stable  peace.  The  Assyrians 
under  king  Asshur-bel-kala  had  given  over  for 
the  present  the  policy  of  crushing  Babylonia,  and 
had  adopted  rather  the  plan  of  making  an  ally 
and  friend  of  the  ancient  commonwealth.  After 
the  death  of  Marduk-shapik-zer-mati,  a  man  of  un- 
known origin,  Adad-apal-iddin,  came  to  the  throne. 
Usurper  though  he  was,  Asshur-bel-kala  continued 
the  same  friendship  to  him,  and  even  gave  him 
a  daughter  in  marriage.  The  last  king  of  this 
dynasty  was  Nabu-shum  (or  -nadin),  about  1082- 
1075  B.  C,  of  whose  reign  no  tidings  have  yet 
come  down  to  us. 


THE  DYNASTY  OF  ISIN.  429 

During  the  latter  part  of  this  dynasty  the  As- 
syrians were  chiefly  occupied  iu  the  internal 
strengthening  and  solidifying  of  their  kingdom, 
while  the  Babylonians  were  unable  to  undertake 
any  extensive  campaigns.  After  this  period  our 
direct  Babylonian  information  becomes  more  and 
more  fragmentary,  and  even  in  some  cases  of  doubt- 
ful meaning.  The  Babylonian  state  had  lost  the 
key  to  western  Asia  and  the  Assyrians  had  found 
it.  Neither  state  was  for  the  moment  making  any 
great  efforts,  but  the  future  belonged  to  Assyria 
for  centuries  at  least,  and  the  sun  of  Babylonia 
had  suffered  a  long  eclipse.  From  now  onward 
we  must  turn  away  fi'om  Babylon  to  see  the  main 
stream  of  history  flowing  through  its  rival's  do- 
minions. 

We  have  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  Baby- 
lonian cities  from  the  gray  dawn  of  antiquity 
down  the  centuries,  through  good  report  and  evW 
report.  We  have  watched  the  cities  grow  into 
kingdoms  and  have  seen  the  kingdoms  welded 
into  a  mighty  empire.  We  have  followed  its  ad- 
vance to  the  very  zenith  and  have  seen  its  decline 
into  subjection.  It  is  a  noble  history,  and  even  in 
outline  has  enough  of  the  rich  color  of  the  Orient 
to  make  a  glowing  picture  for  the  mind.  From 
its  contemplation  we  must  now  turn  to  look  upon 
the  development  and  progress  of  the  kingdom  of 
Assyria. 


i 


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